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ANNUAL REPORT OF THE 
BOARD OF REGENTS OF 


THE SMITHSONIAN 
ENS PDP U TION 


SHOWING THE 


OPERATIONS, EXPENDITURES, AND 
CONDITION OF THE INSTITUTION 
FOR THE YEAR ENDING JUNE 30 


1915 


WASHINGTON 
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 
1914 


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FROM THE 


SECRETARY OF THE SMITHSONTAN INSTITUTION, 


SUBMITTING 


THE ANNUAL REPORT OF THE BOARD OF REGENTS OF THE 
INSTITUTION FOR THE YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1913. 


SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 
Washington, May 15, 1914. 
To the Congress of the United States: 

In accordance with section 5593 of the Revised Statutes of the 
United States, I have the honor, in behalf of the Board of Regents, 
to submit to Congress the annual report of the operations, expendi- 
tures, and condition of the Smithsonian Institution for the year end- 
ing June 30, 1913. I have the honor to be, 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
Cuaries D. Waxcorr, Secretary. 


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CONTENTS. 


Letter irom the Secretary submitting the Annual Report of the Regents to 


Penerlripjectsior the annual report.  ../.24.4 2 eis 5's sens dole ocib 2 sae sels 
Officials of the Institution and its branches......................222-..2-22-- 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 


eT SIMIEHSOMTAIMEM SOLE GOI yo erie eee 2 oe bese tM ul ay VU ey tar ale 
MORES ba DTISMIMeNG seein yh eeepc y fae SP MERE Aels Sal alii i Vey Nahas Ci ebm 
Bia nea aN Ren 2) 9 fs Oe eh a a eS ge pee 
EME ELCONSTC Cra VION Siete rey ee Ee ta Reyes SL ye aes A lr hg 


Researches and explorations: 
ibansley Aecrodynamical Laboratory... «2. .22s-/2 = 2 fe nates os Dee. 
Studies in Cambrian geology and paleontology....................-- 
Bemopicabsiryey Or Panama 262052572628 el oh! Soeale oka. Sees 
baovical expeditions in Africa. 2)... c2 ick. o.e fas sc- see eee oueed 
ERs paet One MME ORTIEO 2 c/a iyns stg eats My 1 UNE Ae dais SE Mes ec ae 
Eqn SIDErial OXPOUIOM. > jc. heduee bos. cL oer. eens ae 
Anthropological studies in Siberia and Mongolia... -..... bP Sel ae 
Biological survey of Panama Canal Zones. oi). 5.025.623 Sy eeke 
Amchropolories! sbudiesiin Perw. 3.20 see. bs 22s wig ON oe 
nenearcues tinder the Hodgkins lh und 22). o. 225...) obese ke Sl ee 
Smithsonian Table at Naples Zoological Station..................-..-- 
ee amiman hush Bun see hc, cle ro ie). Lok ees oe lane 
American School of Archeology in China...........2...-2--2-2-.22-- 

aU PRAISE ssh REMC K Mekl Aes we hiss Distt Stas Se ReS Ue ele aene One 


LEDS MEN 70010 1 NMEA SIREN ra BA WR eR OE BOA a Se A Neg Sl IN dat 
Pam levumomionial islets dele hon 22 lye. ae Bic. d ko ne ok wes Saale 
Wonpresses'and ‘celebrations. . .....0)) 2). .-.2-2..)..-% pe, sp op emer geet Ve 
eorre) Washineton Memorial Building:.. +... 2922). 4.302822 bed. \bens ee 

[OF Re DA Sse UTS PEES Se TOI NAGI TS PE Veer ae, ee? ter a ee OI Pe 
Pereine@renmericnin MhunGlogy,-o. 4.2. Le Pye oes ay ee Ae ee ee 
Pipermail Ee Rehsamimeny Noy Sal ON Ne ais Ol Wee oes tae ee Se 
eam el On OO C MMA cs) ce 0. AC tae a) woe le ede a iil i 
PE RERtae pe MLIBOTVELLOFY Wisin eee Meteo She en fv ribeg Lee tele 
International Catalogue of Scientific Literature.........--...-..------+----+- 
Pa Rem EV UCP Neo Wa Nepal aye es ed Wh Se Ned EN SO 2 Sink le peas 
Appendix 1. Report on the United States National Museum. .............--. 
2. Report on the Bureau of American Ethnology........-.....-.-- 

3. Report on the International Exchanges...............--.----.-- 

4, Report on the National Zoological Park............-.-.-------- 


Page. 


yal CONTENTS. 


Page. 
Appendix 5. Report on the Astrophysical Observatory. ..................-.-. 87 
6: Repertion the bnbrary.,. 222. eee rete ee Oa eaten ane 94 
7. Report on the International Catalogue of Scientific Literature.... 101 
§:\ Report on the Pablicataons: -3 085) csac jc. eerie een ot tee ean 104 
9: Langley Aerodynamical Laboratory: 2020) toe a ee ee 115 
GENERAL APPENDIX. 

The earth and sun as magnets, by George E. Hale...........................-. 145 
The reaction of the planets upon the sun, by P. Puiseux...................... 159 
Recent progress in astrophysics, by C. G. Abbot........--....2....------20-- 175 
ame .earth smacnetism, by Gi A. Bauer so 2iee 22 based eel ee 195 
Modern ideas on the end of the world, by Gustav Jaumann .................. 213 
Recent developments in electromagnetism, by Eugene Bloch...............-.- 223 
Wireless transmission of energy, by Elihu Thomson...................-...--- 243 
Oil films on water and on mercury, by Henri Devaux......................- 261 
Water and volcanic activity, by Arthur L. Day and E. S. Shepherd........... 275 
Mapplesmarks, by Ch. Epry-2. 264026202. eco Se Ue ale ee 307 

Notes on the geological history of the walnuts and hickories, by Edward W. 

EPS ee ie kg bee HENS SU I le a ee 319 
The formation of leafmold, by Frederick V. Coville .....................---- 333 
The development of orchid cultivation and its bearing upon evolutionary the- 

Orios. by We Costantino) 75 Sg 0 ck MC COS AUR re i, 346 
The manufacture of nitrates from the atmosphere, by Ernest Kilburn Scott... 359 
The geologic history of China and its influence upon the Chinese people, by Eliot 

lackewolder. ‘hae N02 2/ Lue oa Dal a aC es 385 
Whe problems.of heredity, by HE. Apert: 22.0. 222520. ee ee 397 
Wabitsot fiddier-crabs, by A‘\S. Pearse. 2.2.4 2.05 YoY ee ee 415 
The abalones of California, by Charles L. Edwards. .............-.-.......-- 429 
The value of birds'to man; by James!Buekland:. 220.2%). 2. (eee Sl eee 439 
Experiments in feeding hummingbirds during seven summers, by Althea R. 

Barina 2 oS) ss a hg ae So OR AR a 459 
What the American Bird Banding Association has accomplished during 1912, 

py oward JH. Cleaves 2 yu oohl Sea Sa 2 2 OCR OS 469 
The whale fisheries of the world, by Charles Rabot................----------- 481 
The most ancient skeletal remains of man, by AleS Hrdlitka..............---- 491 
‘The redistribution of mankind) by H, N. Dickson: ... 2.....22.0.02 22. eae 553 
The earliest forms of human habitation, and their relation to the general devel- 

apment of civilization, by M.Hoermes) 28202)... Seems asecieee eee oe eee 571 
Feudalism in Persia; its origin, development, and present condition, by Jacques 

MOUNT Oro rs) s o's 2 a'l cee Page re See ye ie a 579 
Shintoism and its significance, by K. Kanokogi...............-.---------+-- 607 
The Minoan and Mycenaean element in Hellenic life, by A. J. Evans......... 617 
FPismeless combustion, by Carleton: Ellis. /y.. ...... 35.2. eee ee 639 
Problems in smoke, fume, and dust abatement, by F. G. Cottrell............. 653 
Twenty years’ progress in marine construction, by Alexander Gracie.......... 687 
Creating a subterranean river and supplying a metropolis with mountain water, 

by J. Bernard Walker and A. Russel] Bond!.i. 2.) J000..02: Se eae 709 
The application of the physiology of color vision in modern art, by Henry G. 

Keller and J. J.:R. Mackaodsesiguonk Coathac det AL: See ee 723 
Fundamentals of housing reform, by James Ford. ........-....-....2-.-0-00- 741 
The economic and social réle of fashion, by Pierre Clerget..................-- 755 


The work of J. H.:van’t Hoff byiGs Brunaiees 25a ane see eee. Laem 767 


LIST OF PLATES. 


Page. 

Secretary’s Report: 

tbe yee sons Sere tela Ne aac 64 
Earth and Sun (Hale): 

[LSS Mey PAS Sa ee 146 

Clip ts 32? Ae oh ee ge ge 150 

Mpther NG ee ese a 152 

LIST fal {pr MS eg are a ea ea 154 
Astrophysics (Abbot): 

[EAST | Son el 178 

RE rec eer Utes ee ie a Nene eau a eit 190 
Earth’s Magnetism (Bauer): 

2 CES LOUD SSS 0 ry ae a 195 

BLED CON een) aC mge Sara as <2 S 198 

Pl AHeSP a iON eee oes Bll eo Las 204 

PARE UM erect: ry skis SNe 206 

LETS Ch Ne OU ei eS oe 210 


Oil on Water and Mercury (Devaux): 


Plarpeyilmeeie es reese ives os kd 264 
LBLES RE 02 a eee a 266 
[Te 2 UEC Ac ee A 268 
1 ENE RCSYE) Ces 1s a eH ag 272 
Water and Volcanoes (Day and Shep- 
herd): 
TE FNS) I DAA a a ey 280 
1 EW S'S) a Be AP ae RE 282 
APCD G 2 hia cme os LL a 286 
LEE GiS SWAT fetal See te ae ae ate ee eg at nd 288 
glo 2) i LA a ie Ge 300 
6 ELECTRO WES 0 EN ge ee 302 
Ripple Marks (Epry): 
Le Eso A Ir Gea 308 
Lee ESg Ste SY aM ee aa fo 312 
PARA IR SOR A sick Ms AOA a 314 
Plates 9,10...... Ape sal Bah eehebe i 316 
Nitrates from Atmosphere (Scott): 
LET EGE I UO At ae oO a a > 368 
1 sy 1 ye a ae 372 
Geology of China (Blackwelder): 
Pabeuisevineene qc elo aes d 386 
Lea RSH Fes) 7 SUR A eR Oe a 390 
1 2 aE A a De aR 392 
eli 2.512 PAs SEER NS be 394 
Abalones (Edwards): 
Pea Ue ee ws tad oe Sk. 438 
Bird Banding (Cleaves): 
SE) ER ets APA ean a i aL NR Rg ea a 478 
Whale Fisheries (Rabot): 
PEA ea emma een Nps I My 2 482 
Platerevacoee. Ae ee a Ie 484 


Page. 
Ancient Man (Hrdli¢ka) 
1 24 Ff) RNR go as es Se a 496 
Plates: 21 Sir aii Gaius edie 2 ato 498 
Piste 4 Gi hn he ap erm ee 500 
Plate acuminate Bibiana sak 504 
Plate if Seach cin era aii ie Bin 506 
Plates 8: Oi s05. beeen es ae 508 
Plates cls Wile sass se) talon ae 512 
Plates oahu pepe el ek eee 514 
late vipat od censcih iat Bias 516 
Plate LGh hen (uk era ein G02 a a 518 
Plates MMS ie OR eee ar apes eae a 520 
ded owl Ed peste MeNneay A Bhaskar es 7 8 522 
Plates: 20820 as ei ies aie 524 
Blatev228. eee oe CR 526 
Plates 23 24a wii eid sa Neues ae 528 
Plates 25 S26 unig ie) tse eas 530 
Plates 27.528 24: sea ae eee 532 
Plates 2 ON S0 ek. Sa NSS a ae apne 534 
Plates SI=33 oie ast eae 536 
Plates 345355 52.2 oe oe eee 538 
Platest36; 7 255 she ae aaa 540 
Plates: 58339 A. we see 544 
Plates 40% 4D Oia. cn 2U) sions 546 
Minoan Element (Evans): 
Plates Dis) eee a aplhoys aN Eaaae 634 
Pi stter cr: - SR ae eee 636 
Flameless Combustion (Ellis): 
Plate: ps SU mane OR eee Api 650 
Smoke Abatement (Cottrell): 
Plaitie gsi Wen nh oak eee ie aes 665 
Wey Eee MP AR te TOS CS eb re jy ES A 669 
Plated: Gace ipl. 2) else ase see 668 
Platesia = 75 ee Ae a at 670 
Plates Sala ere nails ee aan 672 
Plates 9250300 025 00. De ee ea 674 
Bllartes 1-31 (a. 08 50 ts aire io aera 676 
Platestl 82s a eee 678 
Platesi2 225s Goh ae soe eae 680 
Plates: 26-29 ee leks es ene 682 
Plates'30=37 eae Soe ee 684 
Subterranean River (Walker and 
Bond): 
Plates M2 eS Se Ree 712 
Plates ‘S400 2 122s. te eee 714 
Plates's;624.2 koe. a. ee 716 
Plates) 7, Sa eee hie eae ees 718 
Plates: DLO ws use aN Nae ete 720 
Plate Lyi) ue 3 citrate ees ee 720 


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y 


ANNUAL REPORT OF THE BOARD OF REGENTS OF THE 
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION FOR THE YEAR’ ENDING 
JUNE 30, 1913. 


SUBJECTS. 


1. Annual report of the secretary, giving an account of the opera- 
tions and conditions of the Institution for the year ending June 30, 
1918, with statistics of exchanges, etc. 

2. Report of the executive committee, exhibiting the financial 
affairs of the Institution, including a statement of the Smithsonian 
fund, and receipts and expenditures for the year ending June 30, 
1913. 

3. Proceedings of the Board of Regents for the sessions of Decem- 
ber 12, 1912, and February 13, 1913. 

4, General appendix, comprising a selection of miscellaneous mem- 
oirs of interest to collaborators and correspondents of the Institution, 
teachers, and others engaged in the promotion of knowledge. These 
memoirs relate chiefly to the calendar year 1913. 

Ix 


THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 


June 30, 1913. 


Presiding officer ex officio.— Wooprow WILSON, President of the United States. 
Chancellor.—Epwarp DouagLAss WHITE, Chief Justice of the United States. 
Members of the Institution: 
Wooprow WILSsoN, President of the United States. 
Tuomas R. MARSHALL, Vice President of the United States. 
Epwarp DoucLass WHITE, Chief Justice of the United States. 
WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN, Secretary of State. 
Witt1AmM Gipss McApboo, Secretary of the Treasury. . 
LINDLEY MILLER GARRISON, Secretary of War. 
JAMES CLARK McREYNOLDS, Attorney General. 
ALBERT SIDNEY BURLESON, Postmaster General. 
JOSEPHUS DANIELS, Secretary’ of the Navy. 
FRANKLIN KNIGHT LANE, Secretary of the Interior. 
DAvip FRANKLIN Houston, Secretary of Agriculture. 
WiLtiamM Cox REDFIELD, Secretary of Commerce 
WILLIAM BaucHor WILSON, Secretary of Labor. 
Regents of the Institution: 
Epwarp D. WHITE, Chief Justice of the United States, Chancellor. 
THoMAS R. MARSHALL, Vice President of the United States. 
Henry Casot Lopcr, Member of the Senate. 
Avucustus O. Bacon, Member of the Senate. 
WittisAmM J. Stonr, Member of the Senate. 
JoHN DauzeLL, Member of the House of Representatives. 
Scorr Frrris, Member of the House of Representatives. 
Irvin S. Pepper, Member of the House of Representatives. 
ANDREW D. WHITE, citizen of New York. 
ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL, citizen of Washington, D. C. 
GEORGE GRAY, citizen of Delaware. 
CHARLES FI’. CHoatTe, Jr., citizen of Massachusetts. 
JoHN B. HENDERSON, Jr., citizen of Washington, D. C. 
CHARLES W. FAIRBANKS, citizen of Indiana. 
Executive committee.—A. O. Bacon, ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL, JOHN DALZELL. 
Secretary of the Institution—CuHaARLES D. WALCOTT. 
Assistant secretary in charge of the National Museum.—RicHARD RATHBUN. 
Assistant secretary in charge of Library and Exchanges.—FREpERICK W. 
TRUE. 
Chief clerk.—Harry W. DORSEY. 
Accountant and disbursing agent.—W. I. ADAMS. 
Editor —A. Howarp CLARK. 
Assistant librarian.—PavuL BRocKETT. 
Property clerk.—J. H. HI. 


x 


THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. XI 


THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. 


Keeper ex officio.—CHARLES D. Wa tcoTt, Secretary of the Smithsonian In- 
stitution. 

Assistant secretary in charge.—RICHARD RATHBUN. 

Administrative assistant.—W. pr C. RAVENEL. 

Head curators.—WILLIAM H. HoLMeEs, LEONHARD STEJNEGER, G. P. MERRILL, 

Curators.—R. S. BASSLER, A. Howarp CLarK, F. W. CLARKE, F. V. COvILLE, 
W. H. Dati, B. W. EVERMANN, CHESTER G. GILBERT, W. H. HoLMES, WALTER 
Hoven, L. O. Howarp, ALES HrpiicKa, FREDERICK L. LEwTon, GrorcEe C. 
Maynarp, G. P. MrrRRILL, GeRRIT S. MILLER, Jr., RIcHARD RATHBUN, ROBERT 
Ripeway, LEONHARD STEJNEGER, CHARLES D. WALCOTT. 

Associate curators.—J. C. CRAWFORD, DAviD WHITE. 

Curator, National Gallery of Art—W. H. Hoimes. 

Chief of correspondence and documents.—RANDOLPH I. GEARE. 

Disbursing agent.—W. I. ADAMS. 

Chief of exhibits (Biology) —JamMers E. BENEDICT. 

Superintendent of construction and labor.—J. S. GoLpsmMitTH. 

Editor.—Marcus BENJAMIN. 

Assistant librarian.—N. P. ScuppEr. 

Photographer.—T. W. SMILLIE. 

Registrar.—S. C. Brown. 

Property clerk.—W. A. KNOWLES. 

Engineer.—C. R. DENMARK. 


BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY. 


Ethnologist in charge.—F. W. HonGr. 

Ethnologists—J. WALTER FEWKES, J. N. B. Hewitt, F. W. Hopes, FRANCIS 
La FLESCHE, TRUMAN MICHELSON, JAMES Moonry, MATILDA Coxr STEVENSON, 
JOHN R. SWANTON. 

Special ethnologist.—Lro J. FRACHTENBERG, 

Honorary philologist.—FRANz BOAS. 

Editor.—JosEPH G. GURLEY. 

Librarian.—ELua LEARY. 

Illustrator.—DrE LANCEY GILL. 


INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGES. 


Assistant secretary in charge.—FREDERICK W. TRUE. 
Chief clerk.—C. W. SHOEMAKER. 


NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK. 


Superintendent.—F RANK BAKER. 
Assistant superintendent.—A. B. BAKER. 


ASTROPHYSICAL OBSERVATORY. 


Director.—C. G. ABBOT. 
Aid.—F. E. Fowl te, Jr. 
Bolometric assistant.—L. B. ALDRICH. 


REGIONAL BUREAU FOR THE UNITED STATES, INTERNATIONAL 
CATALOGUE OF SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE. 


Assistant in charge.—LErONARD C. GUNNELL. 


REPORT 


OF THE 


SECRETARY OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 
CHARLES D. WALCOTT 


FOR THE YEAR ENDING FUNE 30, 1913, 


To the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution: 
GENTLEMEN: I have the honor to submit herewith a report on the 
operations of the Smithsonian Institution and its branches during 
the fiscal year ending June 30, 1913, including work placed by Con- 
gress under the direction of the Board of Regents in the United 
States National Museum, the Bureau of American Ethnology, the 
International Exchanges, the National Zoological Park, the Astro- 
physical Observatory, and the United States Bureau of the Inter- 
national Catalogue of Scientific Literature. There is also included 
an outline of work proposed in the Langley Aerodynamical Labora- 
tory, the establishment of which has been authorized by the Board 
of Regents under a grant from the Hodgkins fund of the Institution. 
The general report reviews the affairs of the Institution proper 
and briefly summarizes the operations of its several branches, while 
the appendices contain detailed reports by the assistant secretaries 
and others directly in charge of various activities. The reports on 
operations of the National Museum and the Bureau of American 
Ethnology will also be published as independent volumes. 


THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. 
THE ESTABLISHMENT. 


The Smithsonian Institution was created an establishment by act 
of Congress approved August 10, 1846. Its statutory members are 
the President of the United States, the Vice President, the Chief 
Justice, and the heads of the executive departments. 


THE BOARD OF REGENTS. 


The Board of Regents consists of the Vice President and the 
Chief Justice of the United States as ex officio members, three 
_ Members of the Senate, three Members of the House of Representa- 
tives, and six citizens, “two of whom shall be resident in the city 


44863°—sm 1918——1 1 


2 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


of Washington, and the other four shall be inhabitants of some 
State, but no two of them of the same State.” 

In regard to the personnel of the board it becomes my sad duty 
to record the death on October 30, 1912, of its Chancellor, James 
Schoolcraft Sherman, Vice President of the United States. Resolu- 
tions in memory of Chancellor Sherman were adopted by the Regents 
at their annual meeting on December 12, when the Hon. Edward D. 
White, Chief Justice of the United States, was elected Chancellor 
of the Institution. 

Dr. Andrew D. White was reappointed as Regent to serve until 
June 26, 1918; the Hon. Charles W. Fairbanks to serve until July 3, 
1918; and Judge Gray to serve until February 7, 1919. Senator 
Bacon was reappointed a Regent, and Senator William J. Stone was 
appointed to succeed the Hon. Shelby M. Cullom, whose term as 
United States Senator expired in March, 1913. The Hon, Thomas R. 
Marshall, Vice President of the United States, became a Regent on 
March 4, 1913. 

The roll of Regents at the close of the fiscal year was as follows: 
Edward D. White, Chief Justice of the United States, Chancellor ; 
Thomas R. Marshall, Vice President of the United States; Henry 
Cabot Lodge, Member of the Senate; Augustus O. Bacon, Member 
of the Senate; William J. Stone, Member of the Senate; John Dal- 
zell, Member of the House of Representatives; Scott Ferris, Mem- 
ber of the House of Representatives; Irvin S. Pepper, Member of 
the House of Representatives; Andrew D. White, citizen of New 
York; Alexander Graham Bell, citizen of Washington, D. C.; 
George Gray, citizen of Delaware; Charles F. Choate, jr., citizen of 
Massachusetts; John B. Henderson, jr., citizen of Washington, D. C.; 
and Charles W. Fairbanks, citizen of Indiana. 

Regular meetings of the Board of Regents were held on December 
12, 1912, and February 18, 19138, and a special meeting on May 1, 
1913. The minutes of these meetings have been printed as usual 
for the use of the Regents, while such important matters acted upon 
as are of public interest are reviewed under appropriate heads in the 
present report of the secretary. The annual financial report of the 
Executive Committee has also been issued in the usual form, and a 
detailed statement of disbursements from Government appropria- 
tions under the direction of the Institution for the maintenance of 
the National Museum, the National Zoological Park, and other 
branches will be submitted by the secretary to Congress in compli- 
ance with the law. 

GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. 


The activities of the Smithsonian Institution under its plan of 
organization cover practically the entire field of the natural and 
physical sciences, as well as anthropological and archeological re- 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 3 


searches. The Institution was founded for the increase and dif- 
fusion of knowledge. It is an Institution of record, research, and 
education, and also of cooperation. It offers facilities for the ad- 
vancement of human knowledge through original research and in- 
vestigation in every field and educates the people through the pub- 
lication of the results of such researches. There is reciprocal 
cooperation between the Smithsonian Institution and the several 
departments of the United States Government and learned societies 
in this country and abroad in carrying forward important explora- 
tions and lines of investigation. 

Some of the scientific studies originating with the Smithsonian 
Institution in this country have since developed into distinct and 
important bureaus and departments of the Government. The influ- 
ence of the Institution is world-wide; through its international ex- 
change service alone it is in correspondence with more than 60,000 
individuals and learned societies'in the United States and prac- 
tically in every land on the globe. During its entire existence there 
has been an unbroken record of friends intercourse with every 
agency devoted to the encouragement of learning. As was said in 
1896, by the late Dr. Daniel Coit Gilman, “ Without any Puibonaee) 
Santen the power to bestow much pecuniary assistance, * * 
the Smithsonian has been, and is, the great auxiliary of science and 
education throughout the length and breadth of the land.” 

The extent of the activities of the Institution is limited only by 
the amount of the funds available. During recent years its private 
income has been supplemented on several occasions by friends of the 
Institution who have generously provided the means for carrying 
on certain explorations and lines of research, but opportunities for 
further important work constantly arise which must be declined or 
temporarily held in abeyance. Some of the projects proposed are 
such as could not properly be carried on through Government appro- 
priation, but which the Smithsonian Institution could readily under- 
take were the means available. 

Research Corporation—The work of the Research Corporation, 
organized primarily for handling the Cottrell patents offered to the 
Institution for the benefit of research, has been progressing steadily 
during the year. As explained in detail in my last report, this cor- 
poration was organized February 8, 1912, under the laws of the 
State of New York as a means of furthering scientific and technical 
research. It objects as stated in its prospectus are: 

First, to acquire inventions and patents and to make them more available in 
the arts and industries, while using them as a source of income, and, second, 
to apply all profits derived from such use to the advancement of technical and 
scientific investigation and experimentation through the agency of the Smith- 


sonian Institution and such other scientific and educational institutions and 
societies as may be selected by the directors. For these purposes the corpora- 


4 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


tion has been capitalized at $20,000, divided into 200 shares, but the charter 
provides that no dividends shall be paid and that the entire net profits shall 
be devoted to research, all the stock being held under a stockholders’ agree- 
ment, which recites that the corporation has been organized for the purpose of 
aiding and encouraging technical and scientific research, and not for personal 
or individual profit. 

At the present time many discoveries are constantly being made, which un- 
doubtedly possess a greater or less potential value, but which are literally being 
allowed to go to waste for lack of thorough development. This is due, in some 
cases, to the fact that the inventors are men in the service of the Government 
or in the universities or technical schools, who are retarded either by official 
positions, lack of means, or reluctance to engage in commercial enterprises, 
and in other cases to the fact that a discovery made incidentally in the labora- 
tory of a manufacturing corporation does not lend itself to the particular pur- 
pose of such corporation. ‘True conservation demands that such by-products 
as these shall be developed and utilized to the fullest extent of which they are 
capable. The Research Corporation aims to supply this demand and, through 
the cooperation of the Smithsonian Institution and the universities, to carry 
forward the work of investigation alréady begun by others upon lines which 
promise important results and to perfect such inventions as may prove to 
possess commercial value, thus bringing scientific institutions into closer rela- 
tions with industrial activities and furthering the improvements of industrial 
processes. 

The establishment of the Research Corporation was rendered uo 
mediately possible by the acquisition, through the gift of Dr. F. G! 
Cottrell, of the United States Bureau of Mavies! and his associates, of 
a nob set of patents relating to the precipitation of dust, anges 
and chemical fumes by the use of electrical currents. These devices 
are in operation in several States, and are fully described i in ‘an’ ‘ar- 
ticle in Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, for August, 1911: 

A number of other patents in various fields of industry have been 
offered by officers of the Government and scientific institutions, as 
well as by manufacturing corporations holding paténts not available 
for their own purposes, and undoubtedly there are many others, both 
in this country and abroad, who will be glad to have their inventions 
utilized for the benefit of scientific research. The Smithsonian Insti- 
tution is interested in the management of this corporation through 
the membership of the secretary in its board of directors, which is 
composed of business and professional men, many of whom have had 
experience in large industrial and mining enterprises. 

The George W. Poore bequest.—By the terms of the will of the 
iate George W. Poore, of Lowell, Mass., who died December 17, 1910, 
the Smithsonian Institution becomes his residuary legatee. As men- 
tioned in my 1910 report, the estate, estimated at about $40,000, is 
bequeathed under the condition that the income of this sum should 
be added to the principal until a total of $250,000 should have been 
reached, and that then the income only should be used for the pur- 
poses for which the Institution was created. The estate is still in 
process of settlement by the executors, 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 5 


As a reason for making this bequest to the Smithsonian Institution, 
Mr. Poore in his will says: “ I make this gift not so much because of 
its amount as because I hope it will prove an example for other 
Americans to follow, by supporting and encouraging so wise and 
beneficent an institution as I believe the Smithsonian Institution to be, 
and yet it has been neglected and overlooked by American citizens.” 

The Kahn Foundation—The Smithsonian Institution is closely 
allied with a number of organizations and movements of importance 
to the public through the membership of the secretary in various 
boards of trustees. Some of these are mentioned elsewhere in this 
report and among others are the Carnegie Institution of Washington, 
with whose administration the secretary has been connected since 
its establishment, and “ The Kahn Foundation for the Foreign Travel 
of American Teachers.” The last-named organization was founded 
in 1911 through a deed of gift and trust between Albert Kahn, of 
Paris, France, of the first part, and Edward D. Adams, Nicholas 
Murray Butler, Henry Fairfield Osborn, of New York; Charles W. 
Eliot, of Cambridge; and Charles D. Walcott, of Washington, of the 
second part. The founder had heretofore established certain trust 
funds in France, Germany, Japan, England, and other countries for 
the purpose of defraying the expenses of teachers and supplying them 
with what he termed “ bourses de voyage” so as to enable them to 
travel, observe, and study in foreign countries. He believes “ that 
the cause of civilization may be greatly encouraged and promoted by 
travel on the part of teachers, scholars, and investigators, and that, 
by the study and. comparison of national manners and customs, and of 
political, social, religious, and economic institutions of foreign coun- 
tries, they will become better qualified to teach and to take part in 
the instruction and education of the people of their own nation.” In 
the selection of beneficiaries of the Kahn Foundation preference is 
given to professors of American colleges or universities and, as a 
rule, the itinerary is expected to involve an absence from America of 
at least a year. The limited size of the fund does not permit the 
granting of more than two or three fellowships each year. 


FINANCES. 


The permanent fund of the Institution and the sources from which 
it was derived are as follows: 


Deposited in the Treasury of the United States. 


BeMeseO La STMUUNSOM lee Ge mee wae a ee a Eee ee $515, 169. 00 
Resmusrywlesacy Of Smithson, 86F=225 = = + ee 26, 210. 63 
DEVOSit troMmEsavings, of InCOMe? 186i 2222250 Jee ee ee ee 108, 620. 37 
Bequest on sames; Hamibtton., 1S fia22= 28 ee ee $1, 000 
Accumulated interest on Hamilton fund, 1895______________ 1, 000 


2, 000. 00 


6 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


Bequestiof, Simeon Habel 1 SSO ae ne a eR RE NSU pale Rie $500. 00 
Deposits from proceeds of sale of bonds, 1881_---_________________ 51, 500. 00 
Giftrof Thomas G. Hodrkins) 1801s Sas ee eee 200, 000. 00 
Part of residuary legacy of Thomas G. Hodgkins, 1894___________ 8, 000. 00 
DepOsit trom) Saving svoL Income; 100502 = eae eee eee eee 25, 000. 00 
Residuary legacy of Thomas G. Hodgkins, 1907___________________ 7, 918. 69 
Deposit from: savings of incomes tOlj2s 2 =e eee 636. 94 
Bequestiof William (Jones hhees Ol Sls sss Nee ee a ee ee 251. 95 

Deposit of proceeds from sale of real estate (gift of Robert Stanton 
ACV TEVA) aL ee I BR TR NRL A ne Pe ee 9, 692. 42 
Total amount of fund in the United States Treasury_______ 955, 500. 00 


OTHER RESOURCES. 


Registered and guaranteed bonds of the West Shore Railroad Co., 
part of legacy of Thomas G. Hodgkins (par value) —--_--________ 42, 000. 00 


oh Roy ez RE of sy pan ee i KS) aU get DOUG Lie sume eet TES as Sy a 997, 500. 00 


There were originally four pieces of real estate bequeathed to the 
Institution by the late R. S. Avery, but during the year one of these 
pieces and a part of another were sold and the proceeds added to the 
permanent fund. The real estate owned by the Institution is free 
from taxation and yields a nominal rental. 

That part of the fund deposited in the Treasury of the United 
States bears interest at 6 per cent per annum, under the provisions of 
the act organizing the Institution and an act of Congress approved 
March 12, 1894. The rate of interest on the West Shore Railroad 
bonds is 4 per cent per annum. 

The income of the Institution during the year, amounting to 
$92,870.74, was derived as follows: Interest on the permanent foun- 
dation, $58,875.12; contributions frgm various sources for specific 
purposes, $16,575.50; and from other miscellaneous sources, $17,920.12 ; 
all of which was deposited in the Treasury of the United States to 
the credit of the current account of the Institution. 

With the balance of $33,060.09 on July 1, 1912, the total resources 
for the fiscal year amounted to $125,930.83. The disbursements 
which are given in detail in the annual report of the executive com- 
mittee, amounted to $92,289.43, leaving a balance of $33,641.40 on 
deposit June 30, 1918, in the United States Treasury. 

The Institution was charged by Congress with the disbursement 
of the following appropriations for the year ending June 30, 1913: 


Prenat Oma Ox Cla 10 yee aa Ee EL $32, 000 
American ethnology222 42322 es eee eens 42, 000 
ASTRODHY SICA -ObSenvato lyases 3 is hu ei ae eens 13, 000 
National Museum: 3 OL 
Murniburecand shite sme = ween ee Jie. Leia eles 50, 000 
eating ame): Verb tis gees se ee eh 50, 000 
Preservation:of collections {222 2--—- 2220 22> eee ee 300, 000 
I 200) :¢: ae seed omer ee eer a ONE Reem NEE eyo) UE Lh Se 2, 000 
OS ea Oc as hg RR RAN Nas aT a a 500 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. i 


PN Histo Tie le OO LO SL Crk: eis iw eee CANOE AAT SR ULE Ss ee $100, 000 
Bridge over Rock Creek, National Zoological Park_-_______-__-____-_ 20, 000 
International Catalogue of Scientific Literature_____________________ 7, 500 

BUGS EH a I a A ea Se eR Sa ae 627, 000 


{n addition to the above specific amounts to be disbursed by the 
Institution, there was included under the general appropriation for 
public printing and binding an allotment of $74,900 to cover the cost 
of printing and binding the annual report and other Government 
publications issued by the Institution, and to be disbursed by the 
Public Printer. 


RESEARCHES AND EXPLORATIONS. 


The Smithsonian Institution has continued to carry on field work 
in various lines throughout the world by means of small allotments 
_ from its funds. It has also accomplished a great deal in the way of 
exploration and research through the generosity of frienas of the 
Institution, who have contributed funds for special work or provided 
opportunities for participation in explorations which they had under- 
taken personally or through the aid of others. Each year, however, 
the Institution is obliged to forego opportunities for important in- 
vestigations through lack of sufficient funds. 

I can here only briefly mention some of the explorations and re- 
searches in progress during the past year. Accounts of activities 
connected with the Astrophysical Observatory, the Bureau of Ameri- 
can Ethnology, and the United States National Museum are given in 
other parts of this report by those in direct charge of those branches 
of the Institution. 


LANGLEY AERODYNAMICAL LABORATORY. 


At a meeting of the Board of Regents on May 1, 19138, the follow- 
ing resolutions were adopted: 


Whereas the Smithsonian Institution possesses a laboratory for the study of 
questions relating to aerodynamics, which has been closed since the death of 
its director, the late Dr. S. P. Langley, formerly Secretary of the Smithsonian 
Institution; and 

Whereas it is desirable to foster and continue, in the Institution with which 
he was connected, the aerodynamical researches which he inaugurated ; 
Resolved, That the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution hereby 

authorizes the Secretary of the Institution, with the advice and approval of the 

executive committee, to reopen the Smithsonian Institution laboratory for the 
study of aerodynamics and take such stens as in his judgment may be necessary 
to provide for the organization and administration of the laboratory on a per- 
manent basis. 

That the aerodynamic laboratory of the Institution shall be known as the 

Langley Aerodynamical Laboratory. 

That the functions of the laboratory shall be the study of the problems of 
aerodromics, particularly those of aerodynamics, with such research and ex- 


8 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


perimentation as may be necessary to increase the safety and effectiveness of 
aerial locomotion for the purposes of commerce, national defense, and the wel- 
fare of man. 

That the secretary is authorized to secure, as far as practicable, the co- 
operation of governmental and other agencies in the development of acrogrom: 
ical research under the direction of the Smithsonian Institution. 

The Regents also authorized the secretary to appoint an advisory 
committee; to add, as means are provided, other laboratories and 
agencies; to group them into a bureau organization; and to secure the 
cooperation with them of the Government and other agencies. 

In accordance with the above general plan an advisory committee 
was organized at a meeting convened at the Institution on May 23, 
1913. The official status, organization, agencies, resources, and 
facilities of this committee are set forth in a statement reprinted in 
the appendix to the present. report. 

In preparing plans for carrying forward investigations in various 
lines a study is being made of researches in progress in other coun- 
tries, and an allotment has been made from the Hodgkins fund for 
the maintenance, in part, of the laboratory. 


STUDIES IN CAMBRIAN GEOLOGY AND PALEONTOLOGY. 


During the field season of the fiscal year 1912-13, or the spring and 
summer of 1913, I continued my geological work in the Canadian 
Rockies. A month was spent in the Robson Park district of British 
Columbia, and Jasper Park, Alberta, our camp being on the conti- 
nental divide near Berg Lake, northwest of the Yellowhead Pass, 
through which the Grand Trunk Pacific and Canadian Northern 
Railways have beens built. 

Considerable collections of fossils were made at several localities, 
photographs were taken, and several places in the geological section 
studied in 1912 were examined. This was rendered necessary by 
reason of my having been driven out of the region by continued rain 
and snow storms the previous year. 

From the Robson district I went to Burgess Pass, north of Field, 
British Columbia, and worked at the Middle Cambrian fossil quarry 
until late in the season. Both in the Robson district and also at Bur- 
gess Pass I was assisted by my two sons, Sidney and Stuart, who 
have had many years’ experience in field work in the Rocky Moun- 
tains. Mr. R. D. Mesler, of the United States National Museum, 
spent nearly the entire field season collecting at Burgess Pass. 
Special effort was made to finish collecting at this famous locality, 
and at the close of the field season a collection of several thousand 
specimens weighing over two and a half tons was shipped to Wash- 
ington. 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 9 


GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF PANAMA, 


A plan has been formulated and some progress has been made in 
certain lines of field work for a geological survey of Panama, under 
the joint auspices of the Isthmian Canal Commission, the United 
States Geological Survey, and the Smithsonian Institution, and an 
allotment has been made from the Institution’s funds toward the ex- 
penses of such investigation. The general plan of the survey com- 
prises a systematic study of the physiography, stratigraphy and 
structural geology, geologic history, geologic correlation, mineral re- 
sources (including coal, oil, and other fields), petrography and pale- 
ontology of the Canal Zone, and of as much of the adjacent areas of 
the Isthmian region as is feasible. In this survey an opportunity is 
afforded for working out in detail the succession of the geologic for- 
mations and the study of the structure, petrography, and paleontology 
of a Central American area such as has never before existed, and 
probably never will be realized again. It is possible to make and 
properly characterize a standard geologic section of this part of the 
world, one with which the more obscure exposures of adjacent areas 
may be compared. ‘There is already nearly completed a section of 
each side of the Culebra Cut in a horizontal scale of 1: 5,000, vertical 
seale 1: 2,500; and a general section has been made from the Atlantic 
to the Pacific, with collections from every fossiliferous exposure seen. 
A basis has been practically determined for the intercorrelation of 
the formations across the Isthmus and for correlation with the Gulf 
States, also with certain formations in some of the West Indian 
Islands. 

Upon the completion of this survey the Institution will publish a 
general account of the work accomplished, and later it is planned to 
print a detailed report of the geological data of the Isthmus and 
adjoining regions. 


BIOLOGICAL EXPEDITIONS IN AFRICA. 


Rainey African expedition—The Paul J. Rainey expedition in 
British East Africa came to a successful close in February, 1912. 
The collections, numbering 5,750 large and small mammals, 400 birds, 
2,000 reptiles, and 500 miscellaneous specimens, included a large 
number of new genera and species since described in the publications 
of the Institution and the National Museum. During this expedition 
Mr. Edmund Heller, of the National Museum, who had previously 
served as naturalist on the expedition under Col. Roosevelt, was the 
guest of Mr. Rainey, who provided him all the native assistants that 
he could use, and accorded him perfect freedom as regards choice of 
collecting ground. Mr. Heller was thus able to visit the exact regions 
from which material was most needed to supplement that procured 


10 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


by the previous expedition. After studying the mammals in the 
British Museum, Mr. Heller reports that the United States National 
Museum now has the finest series of East African mammals in the 
world. Eighty lions were secured on the expedition, which more 
than tripled the highest previous record for Africa. 

The Childs Frick Expedition—As mentioned in my last report, 
Dr. Edgar A. Mearns, United States Army, associate in zoology in 
the National Museum, who had served on the expedition under Col. 
Roosevelt, accompanied Mr. Childs Frick, of New York, on a hunt- 
ing and collecting trip in the territory north of that visited by Col. 
Roosevelt and Mr. Rainey, covering at the same time certain parts of 
Abyssinia, northern British East Africa, and the country lying about 
Lake Rudolf. The expedition ended in September, 1912. The col- 
lections as a whole embraced plants, mammals, birds, reptiles, batra- 
chians, fishes, mollusks, crustaceans, and other invertebrates. A 
part of the large collection of birds obtained by this expedition is 
deposited in the National Museum. 


EXPLORATIONS IN BORNEO. 


Abbott Borneo expedition —Through the generosity of Dr. W. L. 
Abbott, who for many years was engaged in natural history and 
ethnological ‘investigations in the Malay Archipelago, a fund has 
been provided for natural history field work in Dutch East Borneo. 

Nothing has been published concerning this practically unknown 
region, and the National Museum had no collections from East 
Borneo, although there were a few from the west and south coasts 
of Borneo. During the past year Mr. Raven, in charge of this 
exploration, succeeded in securing a very interesting series of the 
characteristic mammals of the country, such as orangs, deer, wild 
pigs, squirrels and smaller rodents, and other interesting species. 

Mr. Streeter’s exploration in Borneo.—Mr. Daniel Denison Streeter, 
jr., of Brooklyn, having offered his services as a collaborator in 
zoology of the National Museum, sailed from New York on April 4, 
1912, and returned December 24, 1912. Some of his thrilling experi- 
ences in the interior of Borneo are described in his interesting report 
to the Institution. He passed from Sarawak into Dutch Borneo 
by ascending the Rejang River and crossing the mountains on the 
dividing line to the Kajan River. He then ascended to the head 
of this river and crossed another range to the headwaters of the 
Mahakam River, which he descended to the Strait of Macassar. 
During his trip he secured some interesting collections of mammals, 
reptiles, and anthropological specimens, part of which have been 
received by the Museum, but many additional specimens were neces- 
sarily left behind in the mountains and may not be recovered. 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. ai 


In describing his journey Mr. Streeter writes: 


Arriving at Kuching, the capital of the Kingdom of Sarawak, in north- 
western Borneo. I apprised the officials of my plan to cross Borneo. They 
helped me with every means in their power, although they told me that no man 
had ever yet been across Borneo, and that they did not think it possible for me 
to do it. * * * JT erossed a bay 200 miles wide in a Chinese junk to the 
mouth of the Rejang River. Here I engaged three Malays aud their canoe to 
take me S80 miles up the river to the island of Sibu. * * * A little Malay 
river steamer arrived and took me 90 miles farther up the river—as far as it 
could go. At this head of navigation is a little native town called Kapit, and 
here I again took to dugout canoes, this time for good and all. * * * It 
took me two months to ascend this river to its headwaters. I collected 
specimens of reptiles and mammals, together with interesting anthropological 
specimens, took photographs of all kinds, studied the natives, the rivers, the 
weather, vegetable life in general, made notes on everything, and mapped 
my course as accurately as I could with the instruments in my possession. 
* %* * T crossed the main range of mountains forming the backbone of 
Borneo to the headwaters of the Kajan River. I estimate the altitude of the 
pass through which I crossed the mountains at a little over 3,000 feet. * * * 
[He then proceeded] in dugout canoes down one branch of the Kajan River 
and up the main river for several days to the immense village of Long Nawong. 
This village comprises about 3,000 souls, ruled by a native rajah, who visited 
me and with whom I exchanged presents. Here I set out with one canoe and 
five head-hunters as paddlers and continued up the Kajan River. A flood 
arose, my canoe went to the bottom, and we had to swim for shore. I saved 
my rifle and my tin box of maps, papers, diaries, and notes. 

Continuing on foot up the river we fell in with a party of 40 head-hunters 
of the Bahau Tribe and I arranged to travel with them, sending back my five 
Kajan paddlers. With this Bahau troupe I continued up the Kajan River 
to its headwaters and over another range of mountains to the headwaters 
of the Mahakam River. * * * After losing my collection I immediately 
began a second collection, and this assumed the proportions of the first as I 
proceeded. When within about 500 miles of the mouth of the Mahakam River 
I came to the first outpost of civilization, the Dutch military post of Long 
Iram, in charge of a Dutch captain and a company of native Javanese. Upon 
hearing my story the captain promised to send a military expedition up into the 
interior, where the Dutch had never been before, and try and secure the outfit 
which I had left at these native villages. * * * I boarded a little flat- 
bottomed Malay river steamer, which * * * floated on down the river to 
the coast. 

LYMAN SIBERIAN EXPEDITION. 


The expedition to the Altai Mountains, which was financed by Dr. 
Theodore Lyman, of Cambridge, Mass., as mentioned in my last 
report, returned to Washington September 16, 1912. Mr. Ned 
Hollister, a naturalist of the National Museum, accompanied Dr. 
Lyman. The expedition resulted in securing 350 mammals for the 
National Museum and 300 birds for the Museum of Comparative 
Zoology, Cambridge. The region covered was in the Kurai dis- 
trict, Government of Tomsk. The mammal collection is one of the 
most important received in recent years, as the region had not been 
represented in the Museum, and the fauna was of special interest 
on account of its close relationship with that of North America. 


12 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


ANTHROPOLOGICAL STUDIES IN SIBERIA AND MONGOLIA. 


With the view of securing further information as to the origin of 
the race that peopled America, a visit was made to certain portions of 
Siberia and Mongolia by Dr. Hrdlicka, of the National Museum, dur- 
ing the summer of 1912. This work was undertaken partly under 
the auspices of the Smithsonian Institution and partly in the interest 
of the Panama-California Exposition of San Diego. 

Besides field observations made by Dr. Hrdlicka, an examination 
was made of the anthropological collections in the various Siberian 
museums in the region covered. He saw or was told of thousands 
upon thousands of burial mounds, or “ kourgans,” dating from the 
present time back to the period when nothing but stone implements 
were used by man in those regions. And he saw and learned of 
numerous large caverns, particularly in the mountains bordering the 
Yenisei River, which yield human remains and offer excellent oppor- 
tunities for investigation. 

A brief account of Dr. Hrdli¢ka’s studies is given by him in a 
pamphlet published in the Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, 
in which he says: 


In regard to the living people, the writer had the opportunity of seeing nu- 
merous Buriats, representatives of a number of tribes on the Yenisei and Aba- 
can Rivers, many thousands of Mongolians, a number of Tibetans, and many 
Chinese, with a few Manchurians. * * * Among all these people there are 
visible many and unmistakable traces of admixture or persistence of what 
appears to have been the older population of these regions, pre-Mongolian and 
especially pre-Chinese, as we know these nations at the present day. Those 
representing these vestiges belong partly to the brachycephalic and in a smaller 
extent to the dolichocephalic type, and resemble to the point of identity Amer. 
ican Indians of corresponding head form. * * * 

The physical resemblances between these numerous outcroppings of the older 
blood and types of northeastern Asia and the American Indian can not be re- 
garded as accidental, for they are numerous as well as important, and can not 
be found in parts of the world not peopled by the yellow-brown race; nor can 
they be taken as an indication of American migration to Asia, for emigration 
of man follows the laws of least resistance or greatest advantage, and these 
conditions surely lay more in the direction from Asia to America than the 
reverse. 

In conclusion, it may be said that from what he learned in eastern Asia, and 
weighing the evidence with due respect to other possible views, the writer feels 
justified in advancing the opinion that there exist to-day over large parts of 
eastern Siberia, and in Mongolia, Tibet, and other regions in that part of the 
world, numerous remains, which now form constituent parts of more modern 
tribes or nations, of a more ancient population (related in origin, perhaps, with 
the latest paleolithic EHuropean), which was physically identical with and in all 
probability gave rise to the American Indian. 


BIOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE PANAMA CANAL ZONE. 


The biological survey of the Panama Canal Zone, organized by the 
Institution in 1910, was brought to a close during the past year as 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 13 


far as field work was concerned, and some of the results have been 
published. ‘The natural history collections made by the survey have 
added very valuable material to the National Museum series of 
mammals, birds, fishes, reptiles, and amphibians, land and fresh- 
water mollusks, flowering plants and ferns, and specimens of micro- 
scopic plant and animal life. 


ANTHROPOLOGICAL STUDIES IN PERU. 


During the past year a second trip was made to Peru by Dr. 
Hrdlicka in continuation of the brief but very interesting researches 
made by him in that country in 1910. The principal objects of the 
trip were the mapping out as far as possible of the anthropological 
distributions of the prehistoric Peruvian, more particularly the coast 
people; the determination of the physical type of the important 
Nasca group of people, which represent one of the highest American 
cultures; further inquiry as to man’s antiquity on the west coast of 
South America; and the extension of Dr. Hrdlitka’s researches on 
pre-Columbian pathology. Important collections were made for the 
National Museum, as well as for the Panama-California Exposition 
at San Diego. A very perceptible change for the worse was observed 
in the state of preservation of the ancient remains, both skeletal and 
archeological. Dr. Hrdlicka reports: 


The major part of the old population of the extensive coast region were 
found everywhere to belong to the brachycephalic type, intimately related to 
the Maya-Zapotec type in the north. The Nasca people were one of the purest 
groups belonging to this type. Wherever they lived these people of the Peru- 
vian coast were wont to practice, more or less, the anteroposterior head deforma- 
tion. They have spread along the valleys to the foothills of the Cordillera, and 
have probably in some instances penetrated into the mountains. Meanwhile, 
however, they became in many though not all localities more or less mixed, or 
rather mingled, with dolicho or near dolichocephalic elements which came from 
or across the mountains. 

As to man’s antiquity, the results were wholly negative; no trace of man of 
geological age, nor even of an ancient man of the present epoch, were discovered. 

The density of the pre-Columbian population was in some localities greater, 
in others probably less, than at the present time. 

As to pathology, the people of the mountains were found to have been much 
healthier than those of the coast. The most common disease leaving its traces 
on the bones in ancient Peru was arthritis. In strictly pre-Columbian ceme- 
teries there was no rachitis, syphilis, tuberculosis, or cancer. Wounds of skull 
were very common. In the mountains numerous interesting instances of tre- 
panation were discovered. 

Further explorations in the mountainous parts of Peru are urgent. 


RESEARCHES UNDER THE HODGKINS FUND. 


As mentioned in my last report, a limited grant was made from the 
Hodgkins fund for carrying on certain observations on nocturnal 
radiation at various altitudes. The results of this research, as also 


14 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


of several other lines of investigation in connection therewith, pro- 
vided for by an additional grant, are discussed on another page by 
Mr. Abbot in his report on the Astrophysical Observatory. There 
was also allotted from the Hodgkins fund a grant for carrying on 
aeronautical researches in connection with the Langley Aerodynami- 
cal Laboratory, discussed in other paragraphs. 

There was in press at the expense of this fund during the year 
a paper by Dr. Leonard Hill and associates, discussing the results of 
important researches made by them in London on the influence of 
the atmosphere of crowded places upon our health and comfort. 


SMITHSONIAN TABLE AT NAPLES ZOOLOGICAL STATION. 


In order to afford an opportunity for American biologists to study 
marine life under exceptionally favorable facilities, the Institution 
for 20 years past has maintained a table at the Naples Zoological 
Station. Investigators are assigned the use of this table for stated 
periods on the recommendation of an advisory committee appointed 
for the purpose. The authorities of the station have on several oc- 
casions courteously allowed more than one occupant of the table 
when there was overlapping in periods of appointment. 

During the year covered by the present report Mr. Sidney I. 
Kornhauser and Mr. Edward C. Day, both of Harvard University, 
have pursued studies at the Smithsonian table. 


THE HARRIMAN TRUST FUND. 


Under a special trust fund, established by Mrs. E. H. Harriman, 
for his investigations in natural history and ethnology, Dr. C. Hart 
Merriam has equipped two offices, the principal one at Washington, 
D. C., the other at Lagunitas in west central California, a convenient 
center for field work on the Pacific coast and a favorable place for 
the preparation of results. 

His principal work during the year has been a continuation of a 
monographic study of the American bears. Assistance in the way 
of the loan of specimens has been rendered by all of the larger 
museums of America, including the Government museums of Canada, 
at Ottawa and Victoria, and by a number of sportsmen and hunters, 
who have placed their private material at his disposal. This has 
been still further augmented by the purchase of specimens, mainly 
skulls, of rare and little known species, some of which are the only 
ones in existence. In view of the fact that several species of our 
large bears are already extinct and others on the verge of extinction, 
the great value of this material is obvious. 

In connection with the study of the big bears a new method has 
been developed, namely, an intensive study of teeth from photo- 
graphs. Owing to the large size of bear skulls, it is impossible to 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 15: 


bring the teeth of several individuals near enough together to admit 
a direct comparison. To obviate this difficulty, the teeth have been 
photographed natural size. Series of these photographs arranged 
closely side by side permit direct critical comparison of a number of 
specimens at one time, favoring the recognition of resemblances and 
differences not easily detected from the specimens. This method 
would seem to be available in the case of other groups of large 
mammals. 

Owing to the desirability of completing the study of the bears as 
early as possible, but little field work was undertaken. Still, a few 
tribes of Indians were visited, and half a dozen vocabularies col- 
lected, completing the series of vocabularies of the 25 existing lin- 
guistic stocks of California and Nevada. 


AMERICAN SCHOOL OF ARCHEOLOGY IN CHINA. 


At a meeting held at the Smithsonian Institution on January 38, 
1913, there was discussed the establishment of an American school of 
archeology in China. The objects of the school as proposed are: 
(1) To prosecute archeological research in eastern China; (2) to 
afford opportunity and facilities for investigation to promising and 
exceptional students, both foreign and native, in Asiatic archeology ; 
and (3) to preserve objects of archeological and cultural interest in 
museums in the countries to which they pertain in cooperation with 
eXisting organizations, such as the Société d’Ankor, ete, 

The management of the affairs of the school was placed in the 
hands of an executive committee of five, consisting of Dr. Charles D. 
Walcott, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution; Mr. Charles 
Henry Butler, reporter of the United States Supreme Court; Dr. 
Harry Lane Wilson, of Johns Hopkins .University; Mr, Charles L. 
Freer, of Detroit; and Mr. Eugene Meyer, jr., of New York. The 
general committee consists of 15 gentlemen especially interested in 
archeological research in China, with Dr. Walcott as chairman and 
Mr. Butler as secretary. Arrangements were made for a preliminary 
survey in the Chinese Republic for the information of the general 
committee in considering the permanent organization of the proposed 


school. 
PUBLICATIONS. 


The publications issued by the Smithsonian Institution and its 
branches during the last fiscal year made a total of 6,260 printed 
pages, and the aggregate distribution comprised 182,883 copies of 
pamphlets and bound volumes. 

The Institution accomplishes one of its principal objects, “the 
diffusion of knowledge,” by means of its several series of publications 
which record results of original researches, accounts of explorations, 
the progress achieved in science and industry, and general informa- 


16 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


tion in all branches of human knowledge believed to be of value to 
those interested in the promotion of science and the welfare of man. 

The Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge, in quarto form, 
and the Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, in octavo, are printed 
at the expense of the Smithsonian fund, and necessarily in limited 
editions, being distributed chiefly to certain large libraries through- 
out the world, where they are available for public reference. The 
Smithsonian Annual Report, however, is printed at the expense of 
congressional appropriations, and in an edition of several thousand 
copies, thus permitting its wide distribution. The principal feature 
of the annual report is a general appendix containing about 30 se- 
lected or original memoirs illustrating the more remarkable and im- 
portant developments in the physical and natural sciences, as well 
as showing the general character of the operations of the Institution, 

In addition to the publications mentioned above, there are several 
other series of works issued under the direction of the Institution 
through its various branches or bureaus. These include the Annual 
Report, and the Proceedings and Bulletin of the National Museum; 
the Contributions from the National Herbarium; the Annual Report 
and Bulletins of the Bureau of American Ethnology; and the An- 
nals of the Astrophysical Observatory, all of which are Government 
publications, being printed through annual allotments by act of 
Congress. 

Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge—The chief character- 
istic of memoirs printed in the Contributions to Knowledge is that 
they are records and discussions of original investigations and con- 
stitute important additions to knowledge. Since the establishment 
of this series in 1848, about 150 of these memoirs have been published 
in 35 quarto volumes. The most recent memoir of this series, re- 
viewed in my last report, was the “ Langley Memoir on Mechanical 
Flight,” recording the experiments of the late Secretary Langley, 
which resulted in his successful demonstration of the practicability 
of aerial navigation with machines heavier than air. 

Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections—In this series 40 papers 
were issued, forming parts of five volumes, the titles of which are 
enumerated in the appendix herewith. Among these numerous 
papers were two articles by the secretary describing further results 
of his studies of Cambrian fossils, a bibliography of the geology 
and mineralogy of tin, and a large number of papers descriptive of 
results of the Smithsonian African expedition under Col. Roosevelt, 
the Paul J. Rainey African expedition, and the Smithsonian biologi- 
cal survey of the Panama Canal Zone. There were also in press at the 
close of the year three additional papers on Cambrian fossils, one 
of them, in particular, giving an account of the Mount Robson region ; 
and a paper, as already mentioned, by Dr. Leonard Hill and other 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 17 


. 


investigators of the Physical Laboratory of the London Hospital 
Medical College, discussing the results of experiments to determine 
“The influence of the atmosphere on our health and comfort in con- 
fined and crowded places.” The authors conclude that— 

No symptoms of discomfort, fatigue, or illness results, so long as the tempera- 
ture and moisture are kept low, from air rendered, in the chemical sense, highly 
impure by the presence of human beings. Such air can be borne for hours 
without any evidence of bodily or mental depression. * * * Heat stagna- 
tion is therefore the one and only cause of the discomfort, and all the symptoms 
arising in the so-called vitiated atmosphere of crowded rooms are dependent 
on heat stagnation. The moisture, stillness, and warmth of the atmosphere are 
responsible for all effects, and all the efforts of the heating and ventilating 
engineer should therefore be directed toward cooling the air in crowded places 
and cooling the bodies of the people by setting the air in motion by means of 
fans. * * * The essentials required of any good system of ventilation are, 
then: (1) Movement, coolness, proper degree of relative moisture of the air, 
and (2) reduction of the mass influence of pathogenic bacteria. The chemical 
purity of the air is of very minor importance and will be adequately insured by 
attendance to the essentials. 

Smithsonian Report—The completion of the annual report for 
1911 was long delayed at the Government Printing Office, awaiting 
a supply of the quality of paper used in that publication. The 
general appendix of the volume contained 36 articles of the usual 
character. The report for 1912 was in type at the close of the fiscal 
year. The popularity of this work continues unabated, the entire 
edition each year becoming exhausted very soon after its publication. 

National Museum publications—The publications by the Museum 
during the year comprised two volumes of Proceedings, pamphlet 
copies of 96 articles from the Proceedings, two Bulletins, and nine 
parts of volumes of Contributions from the National Herbarium. 
An interesting work in press at the close of the year, prepared by 
Assistant Secretary Richard Rathbun, gives a descriptive account of 
the building recently erected for the departments of natural history 
of the United States National Museum. The book is illustrated with 
34 plates and, besides a general description of the building, includes 
special chapters relating to structural details and mechanical equip- 
ment, 

Zoological nomenclature.—Opinions 52 to 56 rendered by the In- 
ternational Commission on Zoological Nomenclature were published 
in the usual form. The Institution also continues to aid the work of 
this commission by providing funds for clerical services in connec- 
tion with the office of its secretary in this country. 

Publications of the Bureau of American Ethnology.—The publica- 
tions issued by the Bureau of American Ethnology were the Twenty- 
eighth Annual Report, containing papers on Casa Grande, the antiq- 
uities of the upper Verde River and Walnut Creek Valleys, Ariz., 


44863°—sm 1913——2 


18 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


the linguistics of Algonquian tribes; also Bulletin 52 on early man 
in South America, and Bulletin 54 on the physiography of the Rio 
Grande Valley, New Mexico. 

The Astrophysical Observatory had completed work on volume 3 
of the Annals of the Observatory at the close of the year, and it was 
expected that the distribution of the edition would take place soon 
after July 1. 

Reports of historical and patriotic societies —In accordance with 
the national charters of the American Historical Association and the 
National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, an- 
nual reports of those organizations were submitted to the Institution 
and communicated to Congress. 

Allotments for printing.—The allotments to the Institution and its 
branches, under the head of “ Public printing and binding,” during 
the fiscal year, aggregating $74,900, were all utilized with the ex- 
ception of small balances on work in progress at the close of the year. 
The allotments for the year ending June 30, 1914, are as follows: 

For the Smithsonian Institution, for printing and binding annual re- 

ports of the Board of Regents, with general appendixes_____________ $10, 000 
For the annual reports of the National Museum, with general ap- 

pendixes, and for printing labels and blanks, and for the bulletins 

and proceedings of the National Museum, the editions of which shall 

not exceed 4,000 copies, and binding, in half turkey or material not 

more expensive, scientific books and pamphlets presented to or ac- 

quired by stheuNational Museum iibray22 23 es Se 37, 500 
For the annual reports and bulletins of the Bureau of American 


Ethnology, and for miscellaneous printing and binding for the bureau_ 21, 000 
For miscellaneous printing and binding: 


Imtermational exchanges) <iwreicsy ee Ae) eS ee ee eee 200 

International catalogue of scientific literature____________________ 100 

INA bONA 4 ZOOLO ST Cais Pe ress ha aes ee ee 200 
Astrophysical Observatory (any unexpended balance of 1913 allot- 

ment for volume 38 of Annals made available for fiscal year 1914) _ 200 

For the annual report of the American Historical Association__________ 7, 000 

PN ote ea PS a a ei Se ee ee a ee ee 76, 200 


Committee on printing and publication—The advisory committee 
on printing and publication under the Smithsonian Institution has 
continued to examine manuscripts proposed for publication by the 
branches of the Institution and has considered various questions 
concerning public printing and binding. Twenty-two meetings of 
the committee were held during the year and 138 manuscripts were 
passed upon. The personnel of the committee as now organized is 
as follows: Dr. Frederick W. True, Assistant Secretary of the Smith- 
sonian Institution, chairman; Mr. C. G. Abbot, Director of the Astro- 
physical Observatory; Dr. Frank Baker, Superintendent of the 
National Zoological Park; Mr. A. Howard Clark, editor of the Smith- 
sonian Institution, secretary of the committee; Mr. F. W. Hodge, 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 19 


ethnologist in charge of the Bureau of American Ethnology; Dr. 
George P. Merrill, head curator of geology, United States National 
Museum; and Dr. Leonhard Stejneger, head curator of biology, 
United States National Museum. 

Distribution of publications—On August 23, 1912, a law was 
enacted requiring that all Government publications must, after Octo- 
ber 1, be mailed from the Government Printing Office, mailing lists 
or labels to be forwarded to the superintendent of documents for 
that purpose. In accordance with the law, the Smithsonian Report 
and publications of the United States National Museum and the 
Bureau of American Ethnology have since been distributed direct 
from the Government Printing Office. The accumulated stock of 
publications, aggregating about 100,000 volumes and pamphlets from 
which constant demands had been supplied, was also transferred to 
the superintendent of documents during the month of September. 

Catalogue of publications—There is in preparation, and nearly 
ready for press, a complete list of publications of the Institution and 
its branches. Partial lists have been issued from time to time but 
no complete catalogue has been published. The present work will 
contain about 12,000 titles, being practically a table of contents of 
the entire series of Contributions to Knowledge, Miscellaneous Col- 
lections and Annual Reports of the Institution, the Proceedings, Bul- 
letins, and Annual Reports of the National Museum, the Annual 
Reports and Bulletins of the Bureau of American Ethnology, and 
the Annals of the Astrophysical Observatory. The catalogue is so 
arranged as to permit of ready reference to any desired subject or 
the collective works of any author appearing in the several series. 


LIBRARY. 


During the year 12,930 volumes and parts of volumes, chiefly on 
scientific topics, were added to the Smithsonian deposit in the Library 
of Congress. The additions to the National Museum library num- 
bered 4,062 volumes and pamphlets. Additions were also made to 
the libraries of the Astrophysical Observatory, the Zoological Park, 
the Bureau of American Ethnology, and other office libraries, includ- 
ing the aeronautical library, which it is expected will be utilized 
chiefly in connection with the work of the Langley Aerodynamical 
Laboratory organized in May, 1913. 

The appropriations for the next fiscal year provide an item of 
$15,000 for beginning the construction of metal book stacks in the 
main hall of the Smithsonian building to contain the library of the 
Bureau of American Ethnology, a part of the National Museum 
library, and certain other collections of books now stored in places 
inconvenient for reference. 


20 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


In the new building of the National Museum four rooms on the 
ground floor have been provided with steel book stacks and library 
appliances of the latest design. To these rooms have been transferred 
works needed in connection with natural history studies, while books 
relating chiefly to the arts and industries and to American history are 
retained in the older Museum building, where the collections of those 
classes remain on exhibition. 


ARCHIVES. 


During the year some attention was given to improving conditions 
in the archive room of the Institution, which was very badly over- 
crowded. This room, on the fourth floor of the Smithsonian building, 
was thoroughly overhauled and much accumulated material not re- 
lating directly to the history of the Institution was removed to other 
quarters. The set of Smithsonian publications formerly preserved 
in this room was temporarily removed to the office of the assistant 
secretary in charge of library and exchanges, thus making space for 
manuscript material of importance. Two large wooden cases con- 
taining papers relating to the internal affairs of the Institution and 
its branches, together with other documents, were replaced by metal 
eases containing drawers equipped with uniform cardboard recep- 
tacles for papers, and alphabetical guide cards. It was not found 
possible, however, to complete the transfer of the papers to these 
receptacles during the year. 

The wooden panels in the doors of the wall cases in the room were 
removed and replaced by glass, so that it is possible to see.the con- 
tents of the cases without opening them. A case was provided for 
maps, plans, charts, and other large objects. 

Cases were placed in an adjoining room for the reception of dupli- 
cate vouchers and other financial papers of the several branches of the 
Institution. 

The large quantity of Schoolcraft papers at present in the custody 
of the Institution were transferred to uniform file boxes and placed 
on shelves. These papers are only partially classified. 

The archives are now completely accessible, although a large 
amount of work is still required to put them into thoroughly satis- 
factory condition. The principal improvements needed are a com- 
plete card catalogue of the several classes of papers contained in 
the room, with indications of the location of each, and a uniform 
card index of the contents of the bound volumes of official letters, 
both originals and press copies. A reclassification of a considerable 
portion of the other archives is also desirable, as well as the comple- 
tion of the work of transferring papers to the new cases mentioned 
above. 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. ot 
LANGLEY MEDAL. 


In memory of the late Secretary Samuel Pierpont Langley and 
his contributions to the science of aerodromics, the Board of Regents 
of the Smithsonian Institution on December 15, 1908, established 
the Langley medal, “to be awarded for specially meritorious inves- 
tigations in connection with the science of aerodromics and its appli- 
cation to aviation.” The first award of the medal was voted by the 
Board of Regents on February 10, 1909, to Wilbur and Orville 
Wright “ for advancing the science of aerodromics in its application 
to aviation by their successful investigations and demonstrations 
of the practicability of mechanical flight by man.” The medal was 
presented to each of the brothers Wright at a meeting of the board on 
February 10, 1910. 

The second award of the medal was voted on February 13, 1913, 
to Mr. Glenn H. Curtiss “ for advancing the art of aerodromics by 
his successful development of a hydroaerodrome whereby the safety 
of the aviator has been greatly enhanced,” and to Monsieur Gustave 
Kiffel “ for advancing the science of aerodromics by his researches 
relating to the resistance of the air in connection with aviation.” 
The presentation of these medals was made on May 6, 1913. This 
date was selected in order that the ceremonies incident to the presen- 
tation might take place in connection with the observance of “ Lang- 
ley Day,” which was established by the Aero Club of Washington in 
1911, to commemorate the achievement by Mr. Langley on May 6, 
1896, of mechanical flight by a heavier-than-air machine propelled 
by its own power. On May 6, 1911, and again on May 6, 1912, there 
were exhibition flights of biplanes and monoplanes near Washington. 
On the afternoon of May 6, 1913, the celebration by the club occurred 
at the Army War College immediately after the exercises in the 
Smithsonian building, and consisted of a reception by the Aero Club, 
followed by hydroaeroplane, biplane, and monoplane maneuvers. 

The presentation exercises in the Smithsonian building preceded 
the unveiling of the Langley memorial tablet and included addresses 
by Dr. Alexander Graham Bell in presenting the medals, and accept- 
ances by Ambassador Jusserand in behalf of M. Eiffel, and by Mr. 
Glenn H. Curtiss. 

In the course of his address M. Jusserand said: 

We have seen France and America vie with each other not only in the con- 
quest of better, greater, and safer liberty from year to year, but also in the 
producing of more and more momentous inventions, improving the plane of life 
of the many, reaching less faulty solutions of the great social problems. 

Nothing more striking has taken place on these lines than in what concerns 
the conquest of the air. It is surely appropriate to remember that one of the 
very first flights ever attempted took place in Versailles, when one of the 


earliest baloons rose a fortnight after the treaty definitely securing your inde- 
pendence had been signed there in 1783. And you all know that Franklin, when 


22 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


asked, What was the good of such an invention, answered, ‘‘ What is the good 
of a new-born child?” The child has grown and is rapidly becoming a giant 
in power. There is no branch of human activity in which France and America 
have more truly vied with each other than this one, from the memorable day 
of the Montgolfiére, so quickly perfected by the French physicist Charles, to 
our own time. 

Mr. Curtiss said in part: 


As I look at the Langley models here, it becomes more evident to me than 
ever before—the merit of these machines and the great work which Mr. Langley 
did. We now know, as a result of M. Hiffel’s laboratory experiments, that 
flying planes used by Prof. Langley had a great deal of efficiency, and it is also 
generally known that the Langley machines, as he built them, had more in- 
herent stability than the models which those of us who followed after Langley 
used in our first flights. I can not say too much in fayor and in memory of 
Prof. Langley. 

LANGLEY MEMORIAL TABLET. 

On May 6, 1913, the anniversary of the successful flight of the 
Langley model aerodrome in 1896, the Langley memorial tablet to 
commemorate the aeronautical work of the late Secretary Langley, 
was unveiled in the Smithsonian building in the: presence of men 
prominent in the development of aviation and a large company of 
invited guests. The tablet was described in my last report. On the 
oceasion of the unveiling of the tablet a memorial address was de- 
livered by Dr. John A. Brashear, one of Prof. Langley’s oldest and 
most cherished friends, and his warm supporter during his long in- 
vestigations connected with the subject of aerial flight. 


CONGRESSES AND CELEBRATIONS. 


The Institution each year receives invitations to numerous scien- 
tific congresses and celebrations in the United States and abroad, but 
as funds are not available for the expenses of delegates, few of these 
invitations can be agcepted. In some instances} however, it is pos- 
sible to arrange for representation by collaborators of the Institution 
who are visiting the localities, or by members of the scientific staff of 
the Institution or its branches who are attending at their own expense. 

Zoological Congress.—Dr. Leonhard Stejneger, Dr. Ch. Wardell 
Stiles, and Dr. Herbert Haviland Field were designated to represent 
the Smithsonian Institution and National Museum ahd were also 
designated by the Department of State as delegates on the part of the 
United States at the Ninth International Congress of Zoology at 
Monaco, March 25 to 30, 1918. 

Applied chemistry—The opening meeting of the Eighth Inter- 
national Congress of Applied Chemistry was held in Washington on 
September 4, 1912, with subsequent meetings in New York. Prof. 
F. W. Clarke was designated to attend the congress as the representa- 
tive of the Institution. The congress made the Secretary of the Insti- 
tution one of its honorary vice presidents. 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 23 


Prehistoric anthropology.—Dr. Ale’ Hrdlitka, Dr. Charles Pea- 
body, and Dr. George Grant MacCurdy were designated to represent 
the Smithsonian Institution and the United States at the Fourteenth 
International Congress of Prehistoric Anthropology and Archeology 
at Geneva, September 9 to 15, 1912. 

Hygiene and demography.—tThe Fifteenth International Congress 
on Hygiene and Demography was held in Washington from Sep- 
tember 23 to 28, 1912, under the auspices of the Government of the 
United States, President William Howard Taft serving as honor- 
ary president. Your secretary was a member of the local committee 
on organization, and Mr. W. H. Holmes, of the National Museum, 
served on the interdepartmental committee on exhibits. 

Archeological Congress—The Third International Congress on 
Archeology was held at Rome, October 9 to 16, 1912. Upon the 
nomination of the Smithsonian Institution the Department of State 
designated Prof. A. L. Frothingham, of Princeton, Prof. George M. 
Whicher, secretary of the New York Society of the Archeological 
Institute of America, and Mr. William H. Buckler, president of the 
Baltimore Society of the Archeological Institute of America, as dele- 
gates on the part of the United States at that congress. 

Historical studies—Prof. J. Franklin Jameson, of the American 
Historical Association, was designated to act as the representative of 
the Smithsonian Institution at the International Congress of His- 
torical Studies held in London, April 3 to 8, 1913, under the auspices 
of the British Academy in cooperation with British universities, 
learned societies, and institutions. . 

Geological Congress.—Y our secretary, as a member of the Twelfth 
International Congress of Geology, arranged to be at Toronto Au- 
gust 7 to 14, 1913, and wassappointed to represent the Carnegie Insti- 
tution of Washington and the Washington Academy at that congress. 
Dr. George P. Merrill, head curator of geology in the National Mu- 
seum, was appointed a representative of the Smithsonian Institution. 

Congress of Americdnists—Arrangements have been progressing 
during the year in connection with the Nineteenth International 
Congress of Americanists, which has been invited to meet in Wash- 
ington in 1914, and Mr. W. H. Holmes, Mr. F. W. Hodge, and Dr. 
AleS Hrdlitka have been appointed an auxiliary committee to rep- 
resent the Smithsonian Institution in connection with, the prelimi- 
nary details respecting the proposed meeting. 

The State education building at Albany was dedicated October 
16, 1912, on which occasion the secretary presented the formal con- 
eratulations of the Smithsonian Institution, which is specially in- 
terested in the city of Albany, for it was there that Joseph Henry, 
first secretary of the institution, was born in the year 1799, and 
there Henry began his researches and experiments in electricity 


24. ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


which in great measure made possible the wonderful electrical 
achievements of the present day. ‘“ He married the intensity magnet 
to the intensity battery, the quantity magnet to the quantity battery, 
discovered the law by which their union was effected, and rendered 
their divorce impossible.” The intensity magnet is that which is 
to-day in use in every telegraph system. “ Henry’s oscillating ma- 
chine was the forerunner of all our modern electrical motors. The 
rotary motor of to-day is the direct outgrowth of his improvements 
in magnets.” 

National Academy of Sciences——The semicentennial meeting of 
the National Academy of Sciences was held at the Smithsonian Insti- 
tution April 22 to 24, 1913. The exercises included an address of 
welcome by Dr. Ira Remsen, president of the academy, and addresses 
on “The Relation of Science to the Higher Education in America,” 
by President Arthur T. Hadley, of Yale University; “ International 
Cooperation in Research,” by Dr. Arthur Schuster, of London; “The 
Earth and Sun as Magnets,” by Dr. George E. Hale, of the Mount 
Wilson Solar Observatory; and “The Structure of the Universe,” 
by J. C. Kapteyn, of Groningen. At the White House, President 
Woodrow Wilson and Dr. R. S. Woodward participated in the cere- 
mony of the presentation of medals awarded by the academy. The 
Watson medal was awarded to Prof. J. C. Kapteyn, the Draper 
medal to M. Henri Deslandres, the Agassiz medal to Dr. Johan Hort, 
and the Comstock prize to Prof. R. A. Millikan. There were vari- 
ous social functions in connection with the meeting, including an 
evening reception in the natural history building of the National 
Museum. On the occasion of the meeting of the academy there was 
published “A History of the First Half Century of the National 
Academy of Sciences, 1869-1918,” prepared and edited by Dr. Fred- 
erick W. True, assistant secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. 

Imperial Russian Museum.—On the occasion of the fiftieth jubilee 
of the Imperial Moscow and Rumiantsef Museum your secretary 
was elected an honorary member of that institution. 


GEORGE WASHINGTON MEMORIAL BUILDING. 


In the public buildings bill approved by the President on March 4, 
1913, permission was granted to the George Washington Memorial 
Association to erect a building on the square formerly occupied by 
the Pennsylvania railway station in Washington. The preamble of 
the original bill (S. 5494), as passed by the Senate April 15, 1912, 
defined the objects of the Memorial Building as follows: 

To provide a site for the erection of a building to be known as the George Wash- 
ington Memorial Building, to serve as the gathering place and headquarters 


of patriotic, scientific, medical, and other organizations interested in promot- 
ing the welfare of the American people. 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 95 


Whereas George Washington, on July ninth, seventeen hundred and ninety-nine, 
said: “It has been my ardent wish to see a plan devised on a liberal scale 
which would spread systematic ideas through all parts of this rising Empire,” 
and it was Washington’s wish to materially assist in the development of his 
beloved country through the promotion of science, literature, and art, and 
with the firm conviction that “ knowledge is the surest basis of public happi- 
ness”; and 

Whereas the changing conditions that time has brought require new methods of 
accomplishing the results desired by Washington and now a necessity of the 
American people; and 

Whereas at the present time there is not any suitable building in the city of 
Washington where large conventions or in which large public functions can 
be heid, or where the permanent headquarters and records of national organi- 
zations can be administered; and 

Whereas a building should be provided in which there shall be a large audi- 
torium, halls of different sizes where all societies pertaining to the growth of 
our best interests can meet, and such as it is deemed desirable may have per- 
manent headquarters; and 

Whereas the George Washington Memorial Association is now engaged in ob- 
taining funds for the erection and endowment of a building suitable for the 
purposes above set forth, to be known as the George Washington Memorial 
Building: Therefore * * * 


The law as passed by Congress and approved by the President 
March 4, 1913, was as follows: 


Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States 
of America in Congress assembled: 

* * So * * * * 

Src. 10. That a building is hereby authorized to be erected in the District of 
Columbia, to be known as the George Washington Memorial Building. 

The control and administration of said building, when erected, shall be in the 
Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution. 

The George Washington Memorial Association is authorized to erect said 
building in accordance with plans to be procured by said association and to be 
approved by the Commission of Fine Arts, said building to be fireproof, faced 
with granite, and to cost not less than $2,000,000; it shall have an auditorium 
that will seat not less than six thousand people, and such other smaller halls, 
reception rooms, office rooms, and so forth, as may be deemed necessary to 
carry out the purposes for which the building is erected. And the said George 
Washington Memorial Association shall in addition provide a permanent endow- 
ment fund of not less than $500,000, to be administered by the Board of Regents 
of the Smithsonian Institution, the income from which shall, as far as necessary, 
be used for the maintenance of the said building. 

Permission is granted the George Washington Memorial Association to erect 
said building in the north end of the reservation known as Armory Square, 
bounded by Sixth and Seventh Streets west and B Street north and B Street 
south. The south front of said building is to be on a line with the south front 
of the new National Museum Building, in the north end of the Smithsonian 
Park; and the said land is hereby set apart for that purpose: Provided, That 
the actual construction of said building shall not be undertaken until the sum 
of $1,000,000 shall have been subscribed and paid into the treasury of the George 
Washington Memorial Association: And provided further, That the erection of 
said George Washington Memorial Building be begun within a period of two 
years from and after the passage of this act, and this section shall be null and 


~ 


26 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


void should the George Washington Memorial Association fail to comply with 
the provisions thereof which are conditions precedent to the authorization herein 
granted. : 

Said building may, among other purposes, be used for inaugural receptions 
and special public meetings authorized by Congress. 

Congress may alter, amend, add to, or repeal any of the provisions of this 
section. 

The need in Washington of such a structure as here authorized has 
been urged on many occasions in public meetings throughout the 
country. The Regents of the Smithsonian Institution have.expressed 
their willingness to administer it when completed. It will be a gath- 
ing place and headquarters for patriotic, scientific, medical, and other 
organizations interested in promoting the welfare of the American 
people and the development of the country in science, literature, 
and art. ; 

Plans for the building are being made, and it is hoped that the 
work of construction will begin within the time limit set by the law. 


THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. 


The operations of the National Museum are discussed with such 
detail by Assistant Secretary Rathbun in the appendix to the present 
report that I need here refer only to some of the more important 
features of the year. 

The completion of the natural history building, with its spacious 
well-lighted halls, has made it feasible to vastly improve the extensive 
exhibits of the departments of anthropology, biology, and geology 
installed therein; while objects pertaining to the industrial arts and 
to American history are now given ample exhibition room in the 
older building. 

Tn the zoological halls of the new building are exhibited a number 
of groups of animals which are noteworthy examples of the art of 
taxidermy, some of these groups being made up of specimens received 
from the Smithsonian African expedition under Col. Roosevelt. 
And likewise in the halls devoted to anthropological exhibits are 
shown a number of racial groups of mankind, including several 
representing Indians of various tribes engaged in their native games 
and mechanical occupations, which seem particularly attractive to 
visitors. 

The department of arts and industries for many years had been 
checked in its development by what seemed to.be the more urgent 
demand for space for natural history exhibits. Many large and 
interesting collections illustrative of the industrial arts, acquired 
by the Museum during the last 30 years, had therefore necessarily 
been held in storage, but the transfer of objects of natural history 
to the new building has now released large halls for the installation 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 4 


of instructive collections pertaining to art textiles, silk, wool, and 
cotton manufactures, to arms and armor, ceramics, mineral tech- 
nology, and to some other general manufacturing industries, in- 
cluding an exposition of the processes and of the raw materials and 
finished products. 

The responses received from requests for objects desired to com- 
plete particular series in this department are very gratifying and 
indicate a public interest in its still broader development. The 
educational character of these exhibits, and, in fact, of all objects 
displayed in the National Museum, is kept constantly in mind. 
Thus, a small number of specimens or objects well arranged is found 
to be far better than a large display where the educational feature 
is overshadowed by what may be termed a picturesque method of 
installation. The style of cases, the color of the background, and 
many other details must be carefully studied and worked out with 
a view to proper harmony in every respect. 

There has been added to the Museum collections an approximate 
total of 302,133 specimens and objects, as compared with 238,000 
during the year preceding. The accessions included 140,015 botani- 
eal, 113,509 zoological, and 14,716 paleontological specimens, besides 
a number of paintings, art textiles, useful plant products, and objects 
illustrative of American history. 

In geographical range the accessions covered practically the 
entire world, ethnological, archeological, biological, and geological 
objects being received from all parts of North and South America, 
from Alaska, Siberia, China, Oceanica, Dutch East Indies, Africa, 
and other lands, the results in large measure of explorations under- 
taken by the Smithsonian Institution and National Museum either 
directly or in cooperation with private individuals or Government 
departments. Among individuals who have thus served the Museum 
during the year, some of whom I have already mentioned, were Mr. 
Childs Frick, who made collections, especially of birds, in Africa; 
Dr. Theodore Lyman, who hunted animals in the Altai Mountains in 
Asia; Dr. W. L. Abbott, who continued his collecting work in Kash- 
mir and generously provided for field work in Borneo; Mr. D. D. 
Streeter, jr., who explored the interior of Borneo; Mr. George Mix- 
ter, who visited Lake Baikal in Siberia; and Mr. Copley Amory, jr., 
who made collections of mammals and of fossil species in Alaska. 

One of the interesting additions to the mammal division was a 
mounted specimen and skeleton of the rare okapi of Africa. Sev- 
eral noteworthy collections of fossil invertebrates were also received, 
and among accessions of vertebrate remains were a large series of 
mammals from the Fort Union beds of Montana, and many genera 
and species from recently uncovered Pleistocene cave deposits in 
Maryland; also a series of bones from the Yukon territory containing 


28 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


the first evidence of the former extension of the range of the camel 
beyond the Arctic Circle. 

The most important permanent addition to the division of history 
was the gift by Mr. Eben Appleton of the “ Star Spangled Banner,” 
which he had allowed to be exhibited as a loan since 1907. This great 
flag, about 30 feet square, is the one that waved over Fort McHenry 
in September, 1814, and inspired Francis Scott Key to write the 
national anthem. 

The division of physical anthropology has received several large 
and valuable accessions of skeletal remains during recent years, one 
of the most important recent additions being obtained in Mongolia, 
where the curator was engaged in studies to discover the probable 
origin of the American Indians. 

The National Gallery of Art was enriched by the gift of 12 paint- 
ings, 7 of them presented by Mr. William T. Evans, and by 18 paint- 
ings and 2 marble sculptures received as loans from friends of the 
Gallery. é 

It has been the custom for many years to distribute to schools and 
colleges for teaching purposes, or to exchange with other institu- 
tions, such duplicate natural history specimens as are no longer 
needed for scientific study by the Museum staff. During the past 
year about 30,000 specimens were thus utilized for educational pur- 
poses or to secure new material for the Museum. 

The number of visitors to the new building during the year was 
961,636 on week days and 58,170 on Sundays, the largest attendance 
being 13,236 on March 5, the day following the inauguration of the 
President. 

The publications issued by the Museum included about 100 papers 
from the Proceedings and a number of Contributions from the 
National Herbarium, besides two completed volumes of Proceedings 
and two Bulletins. The total distribution of earlier and current 
publications was 71,600 copies. 

Mention is made on another page of the fitting up of rooms in the 
new building for the accommodation of such portions of the Mu- 
seum library as pertain chiefly to natural history subjects, books on 
other topics being retained in the older buildings. The total con- 
tents of the library at the close of the year was 43,692 volumes and 
72,042 papers of all kinds. 

Meetings of various scientific organizations were held in the Mu- 
seum auditorium and adjacent rooms, and there were several formal 
receptions which* are noted in the report of the assistant secretary. 


BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY. 


Ethnological researches have been continued in accordance with 
law, among the American Indians and the natives of Hawaii, includ- 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 29 


ing the excavation and preservation of archeological remains. The 
systematic researches carried on by eight ethnologists of the regular 
staff and by specialists not officially connected with the bureau 
covered a wide range of field work and office studies, which are 
described in such detail in the appendix by the ethnologist-in-charge, 
that I need here to review but briefly some of the most important 
activities of the year. For the preparation of a memoir on The 
Culture History of the Aborigines of the Lesser Antilles, Dr. Fewkes 
visited Trinidad, Barbados, St. Vincent, and other islands of the 
West Indies, where he made extensive excavations of shell-heaps, 
particularly in Trinidad and St. Vincent, yielding very interesting 
collections of pottery and other objects, and carried on archeologic 
studies which proved to be especially important in throwing lght 
on the material culture of the former aborigines of the coast adjacent 
to South America. 

Studies were continued in the itivestigation of Indian population, 
a research covering the whole period from the first occupancy of the 
country by white peoplé to the present time, and including the entire 
territory from the Rio Grande to the Arctic Ocean. A monograph 
in preparation on this subject includes chapters on notable epidemics, 
vital statistics, and race admixture. 

Further interesting studies were made in New Mexico in prepara- 
tion of a memoir on the philosophy, anthropic worship and ritual, 
zoic worship, social customs, material culture, and history of that 
interesting and conservative Pueblo people known as the Tewa 
Indians. 

A large amount of additional material was also obtained concern- 
ing the languages, myths, and legends of the Fox Indians and other 
Algonquian tribes, and on the ceremonies and rituals of the Osage 
and Pawnee Indians. 

Progress has been made in the preparation of the Handbook of 
American Indian Languages and the Handbook of American Arche- 
ology. There is also in preparation a Handbook of Aboriginal Re- 
mains East of the Mississippi. 

Some of the results of investigations conducted by the bureau in 
cooperation with the School of American Archeology are described 
in three memoirs, now published or ready for publication, on The 
Physiography of the Rio Grande Valley, New Mexico, in Relation 
to Pueblo Culture, The Ethnobotany of the Tewa Indians, and 
the Ethnozoology of the Tewa Indians, and there is also in process 
of completion in this connection a manuscript entitled “ An Intro- 
duction to the Study of the Maya Hieroglyphs.” 

The Handbook of American Indians, completed by the bureau 
a few years ago, has increased the popular interest in our aborigines 
to such an extent that the bureau is considering the feasibility of 
issuing a series of treatises devoted to the Indians of the respective 


30 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


States, and as a beginning for such a series there is in preparation a 
Handbook of the Indians of California. 

Among the publications issued during the year may be mentioned 
the Twenty-eighth Annual Report; a reprint of the Handbook of 
American Indians North of Mexico, ordered by resolution of Con- 
gress; a bulletin on Early Man in South America; portions of Part 
2 of the Handbook of American Indian Languages; and a bulletin on 
Chippewa Music. 

The scope of the work undertaken by the bureau is necessarily 
limited by the funds available. Among investigations that are 
specially desirable to extend may be mentioned the exploration and 
preservation of antiquities, including the cliff dwellings in the arid 
region; ethnological researches in Alaska; the extension of ethnologi- 
cal investigations among the tribes of the Mississippi drainage; and 
excavation and study of archeological remains in the South and West. 


INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGES. 


The work of the International Exchange Service shows a steady 
gain from year to year. During the last 15 years the weight of 
matter handled has increased from 317,883 pounds in 1898 to 593,969 
pounds in 1918, and the total number of packages has increased dur- 
ing that period from 84,208 in 1898 to 338,621 in 1913. As compared 
with the year 1908, 66 per cent more packages were handled in 1913 
and 678 more boxes were dispatched, but by practicing various econ- 
omies and improving methods the increased work has been accom- 
plished without an increase in the annual appropriation. 

In addition to the international exchange of publications between 
Governments and institutions of learning, the service has from time 
to time been called upon by foreign Governments and societies to se- 
cure information on particular subjects. To answer such inquiries 
has sometimes required much correspondence. Thus, in a recent in- 
stance, the minister of public works and mines in a distant country 
sought information through the Department of State on laws and 
regulations with respect to the boring, mining, and storage of petro- 
leum in the United States, a class of data which the Smithsonian In- 
stitution was able to obtain only by writing to the principal States 
concerned in that industry. 

In order to simplify the shipment of exchanges to the Union of 
South Africa arrangements have been made whereby packages are 
now shipped in bulk to the Government Printing Works at Pretoria 
for distribution -instead of being sent to miscellaneous addresses in 
the various provinces of the Union. This method will effect a saving 
to the Institution in freight charges and improve the service with 
South Africa. A similar method would be very advantageous with 
the Commonwealth of Australia and is now under consideration by 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 31 


the Australian House of Representatives and the chairman of the 
library committee of that country. 

In Egypt there has been organized the Government publications 
department at Cairo, to which consignments for distribution there 
are now being forwarded. In Mexico a service of exchanges has been 
established in the department of public works. 

Full sets or partial sets of United States official documents are now 
sent to 92 foreign depositories, the Province of Bombay, the Cor- 
poration of Glasgow, Finland, British Guiana, the Free City of 
Lubeck, and the Province of Madras having been added to the list 
during the year. There has also been carried on since 1909, through 
the Exchange Service, an interparliamentary exchange of official 
journals with legislative chambers agreeing thereto, 100 copies of 
the daily issue of the Congressional Record being provided for that 
purpose. Thirty-two countries have so far agreed to this exchange 
of their official journals. 


NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK. 


The National Zoological Park was established by act of Congress 
in 1890 “for the advancement of science and the instruction and 
recreation of the people.” It was the outgrowth of a small collec- 
tion of living animals which for several years had been assembled 
in low sheds and small paddocks adjacent to the Smithsonian build- 
ing, where they were kept primarily for scientific study, though they 
were likewise a constant source of interest to the public. There was 
at once a rapid increase in the size of this collection when the ani- 
mals were removed to the spacious grounds provided for them in the 
beautiful Rock Creek Valley, and it is evident from its increasing 
popularity during the last 23 years that the establishment of this 
great zoological park has been regarded as a wise investment of 
public funds. 

The popular interest in the park has continued to be very great. 
On Sundays and holidays the walks and buildings are crowded. 
During the past year the number of visitors was 633,526, and the 
daily average in the month of March, 1913, was 3,900. One hundred 
and forty-two classes, schools, etc, numbering 5,579 pupils, visited 
the park during the year with the definite purpose of studying the 
animals. 

The interests of science have also been primary objects of atten- 
tion in the administration of the park. A number of species of 
American animals which were rapidly becoming extinct are here pre- 
served in appropriate natural surroundings. In a recent report I 
called attention to a much needed improvement that should be made 
in the erection and equipment of a laboratory and hospital in the park 


Spe ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


whereby the welfare of the animals could be more thoroughly 
guarded, and where investigations of a zoological nature could be 
prosecuted for the increase of practical and scientific knowledge. 

The number of animals of all kinds in the park collections on 
June 30, 1913, was 1,468, representing 154 species of mammals, 202 
species of birds, and 31 species of reptiles, which are enumerated in 
detail on another page in the report of the superintendent. The im- 
portant additions during the year included a pair of young African 
elephants, three dromedaries, a pair of cheetahs, several species of 
gazelles, and other animals from the Government Zoological Garden 
at Giza, Egypt; 7 ostriches from southern California; and 2 moose, 
a male and a female, from the Rocky Mountains National Park in 
Alberta. 

Among the improvements completed in the park during the year 
was an outdoor parrot cage constructed through the generosity of 
Mr. John B. Henderson, jr., one of the regents of the Institution. An 
inclosure was also built for the ostriches recently received and one 
for the wood ducks and related species. Mention should also be made 
of the erection of a stone building, 24 by 40 feet, equipped for the - 
cooking of food for the animals by boiling or baking, and also for 
cold storage. The building is abundantly lighted and thoroughly 
sanitary, and is a great improvement over the inadequate quarters 
heretofore used for food preparation. 

An appropriation of $20,000 was included in the sundry civil act 
for 1913 for the construction of a stone-faced or bowlder bridge 
across Rock Creek to replace the log bridge erected in 1896 on the 
line of the roadway from Adams Mill Road. A contract for the 
construction of the new bridge was entered into on May 29, 1913, 
and work was begun soon after the close of the fiscal year. The 
bridge will be 80 feet in span and about 40 feet wide. It will be built 
of reenforced concrete faced with rough blocks of the blue gneiss 
found in this region, the stone for the concrete being obtained in the 
park. 

In the sundry civil act for the fiscal year 1914 provision is made for 
the purchase of about 103 acres of land to extend the west boundary 
of the park to Connecticut Avenue. The acquisition of this land has 
been urged for several years as a much-needed addition to the area of 
the Zoological Park. 


THE ASTROPHYSICAL OBSERVATORY. 


The Astrophysical Observatory continued during the past year 
the important investigations begun during the administration of the 
late Secretary Langley to determine the solar constant of radiation 
and the variability of the sun. In his account of the operations of 
the observatory on another page of this report Director Abbot dis- 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. ao 


cusses the results of these researches up to the present time and con- 
cludes that the observations at Bassour, Algeria, taken in connection 
with those made simultaneously at Mount Wilson, Cal., have estab- 
lished the variability of the sun. He concludes also that a variability 
connected with the sun-spot cycle has been shown. 

Observations were also made to determine the effects of volcanic 
eruptions on climate. Soon after the eruption of Mount Katmai, 
Alaska, in June, 1912, the presence of dust in the upper air from this 
voleano was indicated both in California and in Algeria, and in 
August the direct radiation of the sun was found to be reduced about 
20 per cent by the interposition of the dust cloud. Mr. Abbot and 
Mr. Fowle discuss the results of their observations and the general 
subject of “ Volcanoes and Climate” in a paper in the Smithsonian 
Miscellaneous Collections. They conclude that a combination of 
the effects of sun spots and volcanic haze accounts for all the prin- 
cipal irregularities in the temperature of the earth for the last 30 
years. 

In connection with observations on nocturnal radiation it became 
necessary to determine the temperature and humidity prevailing 
above certain stations. This was accomplished with the cooperation 
of the United States Weather Bureau through the use of sounding 
balloons and captive balloons carrying to high altitudes self-record- 
ing apparatus for measuring the temperature, pressure, and 
humidity of the air. 

There was completed during the year volume III of the Annals 
of the Astrophysical Observatory, recording the work accomplished 
from 1907 to 1913. 


INTERNATIONAL CATALOGUE OF SCIENTIFIC 
LITERATURE. 


There is administered by the Smithsonian Institution through a 
small annual appropriation by Congress, the United States Bureau 
of the International Catalogue of Scientific Literature. This is 
one of the 33 regional bureaus whose function it is to collect, index, 
and classify all scientific publications of the year in each country and 
to send the classified references to the central bureau in London, 
where, since 1901, they have been collated and published in a series 
of 17 annual volumes which form an index to current scientific 
literature. 

The catalogue is not of a commercial character, but by economical 
methods of administration, and partly through the revenue obtained 
from subscriptions to the series of volumes, it is hoped that the 
enterprise will be self-supporting with the exception of the general 
expenses of the regional bureaus in gathering the data. 

44863°—sM 1913——3 


34 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


The United States bureau sent to the central bureau during the 
past year 27,995 cards, making a total of 290,330 cards forwarded 
from this country since the work was begun in 1901. The total num- 
ber of classified citations received at the central bureau in London 
from 1901 to 1913 was about 2,500,000. 

Although the congressional appropriation for the bureau is in- 
tended primarily for maintaining a purely scientific international 
enterprise, yet, without added expense, the bureau is of value to the 
public as a source of general information on many scientific subjects. 
The Smithsonian Institution is in constant receipt of requests for in- 
formation on a very great variety of topics, and since it is the pur- 
pose of the International Catalogue to collect and classify the pub- 
lished results of scientific investigation many of these inquiries. are 
referred for reply to this bureau. 


NECROLOGY. 


JAMES SCHOOLCRAFT SHERMAN. 


At the annual meeting of the Regents on December 12, 1912, the 
following resolutions were adopted to the memory of Vice President 
Sherman: 


Whereas the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution have received the 
sad intelligence of the death on October 30, 1912, of James Schoolcraft Sher- 
man, Vice President of the United States and Chancellor of the Institution,, 
therefore, be it 
Resolved, That in the passing away of this distinguished official the country 

bas lost a man whose unsullied public career and blameless private life marked. 

him as one of the best exemplars of the highest type of American patriotism 

and citizenship; while this Institution has been deprived of the association of a 

Regent and presiding officer whose loyalty to its purposes and zeal in its interests 

have been an inspiration to his colleagues. 

Resolved, That we tender to the family of Mr. Sherman our respectful and 
sincere sympathy in their great bereavement, 

Resolved, That an engrossed copy of these resolutions be transmitted to the 
family of the late chancellor. 


James Schoolcraft Sherman, LL.D., born in Utica, N. Y., October 
24, 1855, became a Regent of the Smithsonian Institution upon taking 
the oath of office as Vice President of the United States on March 4, 
1909, and was elected Chancellor of the Institution on December 8, 
1910, as successor to Chancellor Melville Weston Fuller, Chief Justice 
of the United States, who died July 4, 1910. Mr. Sherman received 
the degree of LL.B. from Hamilton College in 1878 and LL.D. in 
1903. He was admitted to the bar in 1880 and practiced his profes- 
sion at Utica; was mayor of Utica, 1884-85; Member of Congress, 
1887 to 1891 and 1893 to 1909, and was elected Vice President Novem- 
ber 3, 1908. He had been trustee of Hamilton College since 1905, 
and held important positions of trust in his native city. 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 35 


JOHN BROOKS HENDERSON. 


At a special meeting of the Regents on May 1, 1913, a resolution 
was adopted in memory of the Hon. John B. Henderson, who served 
as a Regent from January 26, 1892, to March 1, 1911, when he felt 
obliged to retire from active duties on account of failing health. His 
sound judgment and wise counsel as chairman of the executive com- 
mittee and as member of the permanent committee had been of great 
assistance to the board throughout his long term of service. Mr. 
Henderson was born near Danville, Va., on November 26, 1826, and 
died at Takoma Park, District of Columbia, on April 12, 1918. He 
was United States Senator from Missouri from 1862 to 1869, and 
filled many other honorable positions during earlier and later periods 
of his life. He had been a resident of Washington City since 1890. 

Respectfully submitted. 

Cartes D. Watcort, Secretary. 


APPENDIX 1. 
REPORT ON THE UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 


Sir: I have the honor to submit the following report on the opera- 
tions of the United States National Museum for the fiscal year ending 
June 30, 1913: 


IMPORTANT MATTERS OF THE YEAR. 


Although many important matters developed, as usual, in con- 
nection with the operations of the Museum during last year, those 
of chief general interest related to the exhibition collections in the 
new building and to the progress of work in the department of arts 
and industries. As explained in the last report, only the first and 
second stories of the new building, with an aggregate floor area of 
185,294 square feet, are being utilized at present for the permanent 
installations, which, with a single exception, relate wholly to natural 
history. The last of this space was opened to the public during 
April, 1913, but to a certain extent the exhibits still remain incom- 
plete and the arrangements provisional. The plan of three wings 
particularly adapts this building to the three departments of anthro- 
pology, biology, and geology, representing the organization of the 
natural history collections, each of which has been allotted an entire 
wing for its exhibition series, the overflow from each being continued 
into the adjacent ranges. 

Of the several branches which are administered in the department 
of anthropology, three have been established in the new building as 
constituting what is now commonly recognized in museum classifica- 
tion as one of the great divisions of natural history. They are 
physical anthropology, ethnology, and archeology. Physical anthro- 
pology is not yet represented in the public halls, though an important 
installation of a technical character has been provided in the labora- 
tory. Each of the other subjects, however, has been extensively illus- 
trated on a popular though none the less instructive basis, to which 
purpose a total floor area of 65,941 square feet has been assigned. 
Ethnology occupies the entire available space allotted to the depart- 
ment in the first story, namely, the northern section of both ranges, 
and all parts of the north wing surrounding the picture gallery, 
which is temporary in its location here. The total area covered is 
35,474 square feet. The arrangement is geographical, and the ex- 

36 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. St 


hibits find their key in family groups placed centrally in the halls. 
The archeological collections are displayed in the second story, the 
Old World series, both historic and prehistoric, occupying the eastern 
side and northern end of the wing to the extent of about 7,927 square 
feet, and the New World series the eastern side of the wing and 
the entire east range, with a floor area of 22,540 square feet. The 
exhibition of North American archeology is especially full and 
important. 

The classification of the biological exhibits, at present restricted 
to zoology, comprises five principal and several minor subdivisions, 
of which the most extensive consists of a comprehensive representa- 
tion of all the main groups of animals, each arranged faunally. 
Next follow a systematic series, a series illustrating comparative 
anatomy and osteology which is practically subsidiary to it, a series 
of domestic animals, and a faunal series for the District of Columbia. 
These are supplemented by a number of special exhibits illustrating 
interesting phases in zoology and noteworthy features of the collec- 
tion. The entire amount of space assigned to the department is 
64,398 square feet, of which the faunally arranged exhibit utilizes 
41,058 square feet. The mammals in this collection occupy the first 
floor of the west wing, with the exception of a small area in which 
the series of birds begins, the latter extending thence through the 
western section of the west range; while the reptiles, batrachians, 
fishes, and invertebrates are installed in the second story of the wing. 
On the northern side of the wing is the collection of comparative 
anatomy and osteology, followed successively in the west range by 
the systematic series, the domestic animals, and the faunal exhibit 
of the District of Columbia, the special exhibits being provided for 
in alcoves on the court side of the range. 

The geological exhibits are classified under four subjects, namely, 
systematic or physical and chemical geology, applied geology, min- 
eralogy and paleontology. Besides the east wing, of which they have 
entire possession, they occupy only the eastern section of the adjoin- 
ing range in the first story, the combined area amounting to 47,691 
square feet. Systematic geology is displayed in the range, while 
applied geology, including the most complete series of building and 
ornamental stones in the country, and mineralogy, with the begin- 
nings of an excellent representation of gems and precious stones, 
are accommodated in the second story of the wing. In the lower 
story, which is wholly devoted to paleontology, the fossil vertebrates, 
with many skillfully prepared remains of extinct animals and several 
large and striking skeletons, occupy the large sky-lighted hall and 
eastern end of the wing, the fossil invertebrates the southern side of 
the wing, and the fossil plants the northern side. 


38 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


In the matter of reorganizing the several industrial collections 
which were long ago displaced through the overcrowding of the 
older buildings in which they are now being rearranged, excellent 
progress was made despite the limited means available. The division 
of mineral technology, which had been nominally recognized for 
several years and for which a large amount of valuable material 
has been held in storage, was actively established, but not until late 
in the year. In the division of textiles, in which the work was 
started over a year earlier, the results accomplished have been suffi- 
cient to very materially attract public notice. The old collection, 
including also certain animal and vegetable products, was first un- 
packed, and, although much of it had so greatly deteriorated as to 
be rendered useless, there fFemained an excellent nucleus to build 
upon, the material being chiefly serviceable for its bearing, on the 
history and development of the subjects represented. It was exten- 
sively drawn upon in preparing a preliminary exhibition series, 
which was practically completed before the close of the fiscal year 
1912. During last year there was marked activity in the acquisition 
of new material, in the extension of the exhibition collections, and 
in the general work of the division. Many of the leading manu- 
tacturers were advised with, and their cordial approval of the plans 
and the substantial support they have already given the Museum 
insures beyond question the building up of a thoroughly practical 
representation of the textile and allied industries. The accessions of 
the year covered a wide range of materials and manufacture, and 
included raw materials, intermediate stages, and finished products, 
as well as illustrations of various processes. They were almost 
wholly from American sources, among the exceptions being an in- 
structive exhibit of the woolen industry of Bradford, England, and 
another of native Filipino handicraft in the making of mats, baskets, 
hats, fabrics, and other useful articles. In lines other than textiles 
the additions related mainly to the utilization of rubber, and included 
many testimonials to Charles Goodyear, whose name is indissolubly 
connected with the origin and early advancement of this important 
industry. The installation of textiles kept pace with the receipt of 
materials, and by the close of the year a very notable and attractive 
exhibition had been assembled, mainly in the south hall of the older 
building. 

COLLECTIONS. 

The total number of specimens acquired during the year was ap- 
proximately 302,182, of which 26,999 pertained to the several sub- 
jects covered by the department of anthropology; 113,509 were 
zoological, 140,015 botanical, 5,569 geological, and 14,716 paleonto- 
logical; while 12 were paintings for the National Gallery of Art, and 
1,312 were textiles and useful plant products for the department of 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 39 


arts and industries. Several important loans for exhibition, consist- 
ing mainly of historical and ethnological objects and paintings, were 
also received. 

The additions in ethnology came mainly from the Philippine 
Islands and other parts of the Far East, from Paraguay and Dutch 
Guiana, and from the middle and western United States. Maine, 
Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and Kentucky were chiefly rep- 
resented in the contributions to prehistoric archeology, while Egyp- 
tian and Greco-Roman antiquities and small lots of materials from 
various European localities composed the principal acquisitions in 
historic archeology. The division of physical anthropology received 
valuable accessions, mainly of skeletal remains, from many sources, 
the most noteworthy consisting of a large collection made by the 
curator in Mongolia. In the division of mechanical technology the 
most extensive additions were to the section of firearms and other 
weapons, and included several early and rare pieces; while in the 
division of graphic arts they were illustrative of recent methods of 
pictorial reproduction. Most prominently to be noted in connection 
with the division of history was the gift by Mr. Eben Appleton of 
“The Star Spangled Banner,” which had been exhibited as a loan 
since 1907. This witness of the gallant defense of Fort McHenry 
during its unsuccessful bombardment by the British fleet on Sep- 
tember 13 and 14, 1814, immortalized by the stirring verses of Francis 
Scott Key, has been accorded a conspicuous place of honor in the 
principal hall of history. Among other notable acquisitions were 
memorials of the Washburn family and of Generals U. S. Grant and 
Frederick D. Grant; a bronze cannon, with its wooden carriage, 
brought to America by General Lafayette and used in the Revolution ; 
over 21,000 postage stamps and postal cards, added to the large collec- 
tion from the Post Office Department; the 7%¢anic memorial gold 
medal issued by the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission; and, as a 
loan, the collection of historical china assembled by the late Rear 
Admiral F. W. Dickins, United States Navy, consisting of about 500 
pieces, and including a large number of fine examples of presidential 
china from the administration of Washington to that of Benjamin 
Harrison. 

For some of its most important acquisitions the department of 
biology was indebted to several expeditions to distant regions, con- 
ducted at private expense. The most extensive of these, undertaken by 
Mr. Childs Frick, who was accompanied by Dr. E. A. Mearns, United 
States Army (retired), and others, visited Abyssinia and British 
East Africa, and was absent from January to September, 1912. — 
The birds obtained, numbering over 5,000, have been deposited in 
the Museum. On a hunting trip to the region of the Altai Moun- 
tains, in Asia, Dr. Theodore Lyman, of Harvard University, with 


40 ' ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


the assistance of Mr. N. Hollister, of the Museum staff, secured about 
650 specimens of mammals and birds, which have been shared be- 
tween the Museum of Comparative Zoology and the National Mu- 
seum. Dr. W. L. Abbott, who continued his collecting work in 
Kashmir, also maintained a naturalist in Borneo to extend the field 
work which he had so effectively carried on for several years. From 
the former region a large number of small mammals were received 
during the year, and from the latter many specimens of mammals, 
birds, and reptiles. Mr. Arthur de C. Sowerby transmitted mam- 
mals and reptiles from China; Mr. D. D. Streeter, jr., collected 
mammals and reptiles in Borneo; Mr. George Mixter visited Lake 
Baikal, Siberia, and its vicinity, securing specimens of the native 
bear, of the seal peculiar to the lake, and of a number of small 
mammals; and Mr. Copley Amory, jr., joining a Coast Survey party 
in Alaska, obtained many mammals, including several caribou and 
an interesting series of bones of fossil species. Mr. A. C. Bent in 
the course of investigations in Newfoundland and Labrador made 
collections of birds, and Dr. Paul Bartsch and Dr. T. Wayland 
Vaughan, as guests on the Carnegie steamer Anton Dohrn, collected 
marine invertebrates among the Florida Keys, as did also Mr. John 
B. Henderson, jr., by means of dredgings from his yacht Holts. Mr. 
Paul G. Russell, of the division of plants, who accompanied an ex- 
pedition of the Carnegie Institution to the West Indies, secured for 
the Museum several thousand botanical specimens. 

The division of mammals was fortunate in obtaining an excep- 
tionally fine mounted specimen and skeleton of the rare okapi from 
the Kongo region of Africa. The principal accessions of fishes and 
marine invertebrates were from explorations by the Bureau of Fish- 
eries in various parts of the Pacific Ocean, consisting mainly of col- 
lections that had been studied and described. Among fishes were 
the types of 110 new species, while the marine invertebrates included 
extensive series of crustaceans and echinoderms, besides ascidians 
and plankton material from the Atlantic coast. Mollusks were re- 
ceived from various localities in North America and from the Ba- 
hama Islands, Venezuela, South Australia, and the Dutch East 
Indies. Of insects over 37,000 specimens were acquired, including 
15,000 forest insects from West Virginia, valuable material from 
India and Great Britain, and about 10,000 well-prepared beetles 
from the District of Columbia, which are intended to be used in 
connection with the exhibition series of the local fauna. The division 
of plants was enriched to the extent of 140,000 specimens. The prin- 
cipal addition consisted of some 80,000 specimens of grasses, trans- 
' ferred by the Department of Agriculture, which, with 12,800 speci- 
mens purchased during the year and the material previously in the 
herbarium, places the Museum in possession of the largest and most 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 41 


comprehensive collection of grasses in this country. Other impor- 
tant accessions were the Wooton collection of 10,000 plants mostly 
from New Mexico, about 10,000 West Indian plants, a valuable series 
from British Guiana, and the C. Henry Kain collection of diatoms, 
one of the finest in the world, and supposed to be the largest in the 
United States. 

The more important additions to the department of geology were 
illustrative of published results of investigations by the Geological 
Survey, comprising rocks, ores, and minerals from some of the 
Western States, and fossils from the middle Devonian of New 
York, the early Devonian and Silurian of Maine, and the Ordovician 
of Tennessee. Other noteworthy collections of fossil invertebrates 
received were from the Silurian and Devonian of the Detroit River 
region, the Silurian of Ohio, and the Tertiary of the Panama Canal 
Zone, while of vertebrate remains the accessions included a large 
series of mammals from the Fort Union beds of Montana, many 
genera and species from recently uncovered Pleistocene cave deposits 
in Maryland, and a small but interesting series of bones from the 
Yukon territory containing the first evidence of the former extension 
of the range of the camel on this continent beyond the Arctic Circle. 
The Geological Survey transmitted a large collection of Cretaceous 
and Tertiary plants from Colorado and New Mexico, containing 271 
type and illustrated specimens. Large collections of Cambrian fos- 
sils were made by Secretary Walcott in British Columbia and Alberta 
in connection with his geological work in the Canadian Rockies. 


NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART. 


The permanent additions to the Gallery consisted of 12 paintings, 
10 of which were gifts and 2 bequests. Of the former, 7 were re- 
ceived from Mr. William T. Evans as contributions to his notable 
collection of the work of contemporary American painters and are 
as follows: “'The Meadow Brook,” by Charles Paul Gruppe; “ The 
Mourning Brave,’ by Edwin W. Deming; “The Fur Muff,” by 
Robert David Gauley; “ Water Lilies,” by Walter Shirlaw; “ Castle 
Creek Canyon, South Dakota,” by Frank De Haven; and “ Christ 
before Pilate” and “Suffer the Little Children to Come unto Me,” 
by Otto W. Beck, the last two being pastels. The other gifts were 
“Twilight after Rain,” by Norwood H. MacGilvary, presented by 
Mr. Frederic F. Sherman in memory of Eloise Lee Sherman; “ The 
Wreck,” by Harrington Fitzgerald, donated by the artist; and “ The 
Lace Maker,” after Terburg, contributed by Miss Julia H. Chadwick. 
The bequests consisted of the “ Tomb of ‘ Mahomet the Gentleman’ 
at Broussa,” by Hamdy Bey, from Mrs. Elizabeth C. Hobson; and a 
portrait from the widow of the late Col. Albert B. Brackett, United 
States Army, by G. P. A. Healy. The additions to the loan collec- 


49 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


tion comprised 18 paintings and 2 marble sculptures received from 
12 friends of the Gallery. 


ART TEXTILES. 


The lace exhibit now embraces a fairly connected series both in 
respect to the varieties of laces and the development of the industry, 
and it also contains some important examples which from their 
quality and rarity form striking museum pieces. Though smaller 
and less conspicuous in the matter of display material than some 
others, it ranks high among the museum collections of the country. 
The work during the year was mainly in the direction of securing 
a more systematic arrangement of the collection and of more fully 
labeling both specimens and cases. The collection at present consists 
chiefly of loans, which have increased in number from year to year, 
with the expectation of soon making the collection more permanent in 


character. 
MISCELLANEOUS. 


Duplicate specimens to the number of about 7,300 were distributed 
to schools and colleges for teaching purposes, the subjects represented 
being mainly fishes, insects, marine invertebrates, rocks, ores, min- 
erals, and fossils. Some 1,500 pounds of material suitable for blow- 
pipe and assay work by students was also similarly disposed of. 
Over 21,000 duplicates were used in making exchanges, about 85 
per cent of this number being plants. Two hundred and six lots of 
specimens were sent to specialists for working up both on behalf 
of the Museum and in the interest of the advancement of researches 
by other institutions. They comprised over 12,700 individual speci- 
mens, besides several hundred packages of unassorted material, 
principally of animals, plants, and fossils. 

The aggregate number of visitors to the new building on week 
days during the year was 261,636, a daily average of 836, and on 
Sundays 58,170, a daily average of 1,118. The attendance at the 
older Museum building was 173,858, and at the Smithsonian build- 
ing 142,420, these figures representing a daily average of 555 for 
the former and of 455 for the latter. During inaugural week in 
March, 1913, the daily average for the new building was increased 
to 5 395 persons, the largest attendance for any aaiie day having 
bash: 13,236 on March 5 

The on ae Lele of Bulletins 79 and 81 and volumes 42_ 
and 48 of the Proceedings, besides 105 papers issued in separate 
form, of which 96 belonged to the series of Proceedings and 9 to the 
Contributions from the National Herbarium. Thirty-five papers on 
Museum subjects, mainly descriptive of new additions to the collec- 
tions, were also published in the Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collec- 
tions. The number of copies of Museum publications distributed, 
including earlier issues as well as those of the year, was about 71,600. 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 43 


The furnishing of the library quarters in the new building was 
completed early in the autumn of 1912, and the transfer of the books 
and equipment intended to be kept there was soon afterwards accom- 
plished. While designed primarily to accommodate the natural 
history and anthropological publications, which comprise the major 
part of the collection, this has also been constituted the main or 
central library, where most of the general works of reference will be 
placed and where all publications will be received and catalogued. 
The library in the older building will hereafter be mainly restricted 
to the subjects of history and the arts and industries. The accessions 
of the year consisted of 1,690 books, 2,213 pamphlets, and 159 parts 
of volumes, which increased the total contents of the library to 
43,692 volumes and 72,042 unbound papers of all kinds. 

The facilities afforded by the new building for meetings and other 
functions were frequently availed of. The auditorium and committee 
rooms were used for the regular meetings of the Anthropological 
Society of Washington, the Washington Society of the Fine Arts, and 
the Spanish-American Atheneum, and for a course of iectures under 
the Naval War College Extension. The annual meeting and semicen- 
tennial anniversary of the National Academy of Sciences were held 
in April. Of congresses and other assemblages which were accommo- 
dated wholly or in part in the building were the Fifteenth Interna- 
tional Congress on Hygiene and Demography; the Ninth Triennial 
Congress of American Physicians and Surgeons; a joint meeting of 
the American Philological Association, the Archaeological Institute 
of America, and the Society of Biblical Literature and Exegesis; a 
meeting of the American Farm-Management Association; the Twen- 
tieth Annual Convention of the International Kindergarten Union; 
and a meeting of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs. The 
Department of Agriculture had the use of the auditorium for annual 
conferences on farm management and meat inspection. Besides simi- 
lar functions in connection with two of the above meetings, recep- 
tions were given by the Regents and Secretary to the members in 
attendance at the Eighth International Congress of Applied Chem- 
istry and the Sixth International Congress for Testing Materials, 
and to the Daughters of the American Revolution. On the evening 
of March 6 Mr. James Wilson, late Secretary of Agriculture, was 
tendered a reception by the employees of the Department of Agri- 
culture. 


Respectfully submitted. 
RicHarp RaTHBUN, 


Assistant Secretary in Charge, U. 8. National Museum. 
Dr. Cuartes D. Watcort, 
Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. 
Novemper 12, 1913. 


APPENDIX 2. 
REPORT ON THE BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY. 


Sir: I have the honor to submit the following report of the opera- 
tions of the Bureau of American Ethnology during the fiscal year 
ended June 30, 1913, which have been conducted by authority of the 
act of Congress approved August 24, 1912, making appropriations for 
sundry civil expenses of the Government, and in accordance with a 
plan of operations approved by the Secretary of the Smithsonian 
Institution. The act referred to contains the following provision: 

American ethnology: For continuing ethnological researches among the 
American Indians and the natives of Hawaii, including the excavation and 
preservation of archzologic remains, under the direction of the Smithsonian 
Institution, including salaries or compensation of all necessary employees and 
the purchase of necessary books and periodicals, including payment in advance 
for subscriptions, $42,000. 


SYSTEMATIC RESEARCHES. 


The systematic researches were conducted by the regular staff of 
the bureau, consisting of seven ethnologists, and by other specialists 
not directly connected with the bureau. These operations may be 
summarized as follows: 

Mr. F. W. Hodge, ethnologist-in-charge, was occupied almost en- 
tirely during the year with administrative affairs pertaining to the 
bureau’s activities. He was able to devote some time to the prepara- 
tion of the Bibliography of the Pueblo Indians, the writings relating 
to the subject covering so extended a period (from 1539 to date) and 
being so numerous that much remains to be done. He devoted atten- 
tion also, as opportunity offered, to the revision of certain sections of 
the Handbook of American Indians, but as it is the desire to revise 
this work completely, with the aid of the entire staff of the bureau as 
well as of other specialists, little more than a beginning of the revi- 
sion has been made. Mr. Hodge continued to represent the Smith- 
sonian Institution at the meetings of the United States Board on 
Geographic Names, and the Bureau of American Ethnology on the 
Smithsonian advisory committee on printing and publication. 

Dr. J. Walter Fewkes, ethnologist, spent the summer months and 
part of the autumn of 1912 in correcting the proofs of his monograph 
on Casa Grande and of his report on the Antiquities of the Upper 
Verde River and Walnut Creek Valleys, Arizona, both of which 

44 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 45 


appear in the Twenty-eighth Annual Report of the bureau, and in 
completing the draft of a memoir devoted to the Symbolic Designs 
on Hopi Pottery, which it is designed to publish with numerous illus- — 
trations. The remainder of the autumn was occupied by Dr. Fewkes 
in gathering material for an evertual memoir on the Culture History 
of the Aborigines of the Lesser Antilles, these data being derived 
chiefly from a study of the early literature of the subject and of the 
rich West Indian collections from the island of St. Vincent in the 
Heye Museum of New York City. Preparatory to the publication of 
the final results, Dr. Fewkes, with the generous permission of George 
G. Heye, Esq., selected with entire freedom the necessary objects for 
illustration, and before the close of the fiscal year about 200 drawings 
of the archeological objects in this important collection had been 
finished. 

In October, 1912, Dr. Fewkes sailed for the West Indies under the 
joint auspices of the bureau and the Heye Museum, the special object 
in view being the gathering of new archeological data through the 
excavation of village sites and refuse-heaps and the examination of 
local collections in the islands. Dr. Fewkes visited Trinidad, Bar- 
bados, St. Vincent, Balliceaux, Grenada, Dominica, St. Kitts, Santa 
Cruz, and other islands, excavating shell-heaps in Trinidad and Bal- 
liceaux, and making archeological studies in other isles. The results 
of the fee egations in Trinidad proved to be especially important, 
owing to the light which they shed on the pebite taal culture of the 
former aborigines of the coast adjacent to South America. 

Extensive excavations were made in a large shell-heap, known as 
Tehip-Tchip Hill, on the shore of Erin Bay in the Cedros district. 
This midden is historic, for it was in Erin Bay that Columbus 
anchored on his third voyage, sending men ashore to fill their casks 
at the spring or stream near this Indian mound. Tchip-Tchip Hill 
is now covered with buildings to so great an extent that it was pos- 
sible to conduct excavations only at its periphery; nevertheless the 
diggings yielded a rich and unique collection that well illustrates the 
culture of the natives of this part of Trinidad. The collection con- 
sists of several fine unbroken pottery vessels with painted decoration, 
and more than a hundred well-made effigy heads of clay, in addition 
to effigy jars and many broken decorated bowls. There were also 
obtained from the Erin Bay midden several stone hatchets charac- 
teristic of Trinidad and the adjacent coast of South America, a few 
shell and bone gorgets, and other artifacts illustrating the activities 
of the former inhabitants. It is an interesting fact that as a whole 
the objects here found resemble those that have been taken from shell- 
heaps on the Venezuela coast and from the Pomeroon district of 
British Guiana more closely than they resemble related specimens 
from the other islands of the Lesser Antilles. Several other middens 


46 — ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


were examined in Trinidad, the most representative of which is situ- 
ated near San Jose, the old Spanish capital. Promising shell-heaps 
were discovered also at Mayaro Bay on the eastern coast. 

One of the most important results of the West Indian field work 
by Dr. Fewkes was a determination of the geographical distribution 
of certain types of artifacts and a comparison of the prehistoric cul- 
ture areas in the so-called Carib Islands. Evidence of the existence 
of a sedentary culture on these islands preceding that of the Carib 
was obtained, showing it to have distantly resembled that of Porto 
Rico; this culture, however, was not uniform. Dr. Fewkes also found 
that there were a number of subcultures in these islands. In pre- 
historic time Trinidad and Tobago, it was determined, were some- 
what similar culturally, just as they are similar geologically and bio- 
logically, to northern South America. In Dr. Fewkes’s opinion per- 
haps nowhere is the effect of environment on human culture better 
illustrated than in the chain of islands extending from Grenada to 
Guadeloupe, which were inhabited, when discovered, by Carib, some 
of whose descendants are still to be found in Dominica and St. Vin- 
cent. The earlier or pre-Carib people were culturally distinct from 
those of Trinidad in the south, St. Kitts in the north, and Barbados 
in the east. The stone implements of the area are characteristic and 
the prehistoric pottery can readily be distinguished from that of the 
islands beyond the limits named. 

A large number of shell-heaps on St. Vincent were visited and 
studies made of localities in that island in which caches of stone 
implements have been found. Six groups of petroglyphs were ex- 
amined, even some of the best known of which have never been de- 
scribed. Special effort was made to obtain information respecting 
the origin of certain problematical objects of tufaceous stone in the 
Heye Museum, said to have been collected from beneath the lava beds 
on the flank of the Soufriére. 

Dr. Fewkes visited the locality on the island of Balliceaux where 
the Carib of St. Vincent were settled after the Carib wars and be- 
fore they were deported to Roatan on the coast of Honduras. Ex- 
tensive excavations were made at the site of their former settlement 
at. Banana Bay, where there is now a midden overgrown with brush. 
Here much pottery, as well as several human skeletons and some 
shells and animal bones, were found. 

The mixed-blood survivors of the St. Vincent Carib who once lived 
at Morne Rond, near the Soufriere, but who are now settled at 
Campden Park near Kingstown, were visited. These still retain some 
of their old customs, as making cassava from the poisonous roots of 
the manihot, and preserve a few words of their native tongue. A 
brief vocabulary was obtained, but Carib is no longer habitually 
spoken in St. Vincent. 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. AT 


The fertile island of St. Kitts and the neighboring Nevis were 
found to be particularly instructive archeologically. Both have sev- 
eral extensive middens and well-preserved pictographs, the former 
having yielded many artifacts that illustrate the material culture 
of its pre-Carib inhabitants. Through the courtesy of Mr. Connell 
his large collection, which adequately illustrates the culture of St. 
Kitts and Nevis, was placed at the disposal of Dr. Fewkes for the 
purpose of study, and he was permitted to make drawings of the more 
typical objects, one of the most instructive of which is a sculptured 
torso from Nevis. 

In Barbados Dr. Fewkes examined the midden at Indian River, 
on the west coast, from which site the important Taylor archeological 
collection was gathered. Several other middens were visited on the 
lee coast from Bridgetown to the northern end of the island, where 
a marly hill strewn with potsherds was observed. He also examined 
the so-called “ Indian excavations” at Freshwater Bay and others 
at Indian River, and visited several cave shelters on the island. The 
most noteworthy of these caves are situated at Mount Gilboa and 
in the Scotland district, St. Lucy Parish. To one of these, known 
as the “ Indian Castle,” described in 1750 by the Rev. Griffith Hughes, 
who claims to have found therein an idol and other undoubted 
Indian objects, Dr. Fewkes devoted much attention. The gulches 
so characteristic of Barbados were favorite resorts of the aborigines, 
and, judging by the artifacts, furnished cave shelters for them. 
Although uninhabited at the time of its discovery, there is evidence 
of a considerable prehistoric aboriginal population in Barbados, 
whose culture was influenced largely by the character of the material 
from which their artifacts were made, most of them being fashioned 
from shell instead of stone, a characteristic seemingly constituting 
this island a special culture area. 

A collection of stone implements, including celts, axes, and other 
objects, was gathered at Santa Cruz. Several local collections of 
archeological objects were examined, and the large midden at the 
mouth of Salt River was visited. The prehistoric objects obtained 
on this island and from St. Thomas resemble those from Porto Rico. 

Although the Carib inhabitants of the Lesser Antilles are no 
longer of pure blood, and their language is known to only a few 
persons in Dominica and St. Vincent, and to these but imperfectly, 
it was found that the negroes, who form more than nine-tenths of 
the insular population, retain in modified form some traces of the 
material culture of the Indians. Cassava is the chief food of many 
of the people, and the method of its preparation has been little 
changed since aboriginal times. Cocoa is ground on a stone and 
made into cylindrical rolls in much the same manner as it was pre- 
pared by the Indians in early times. The basketry made in Do- 


48 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


minica was found to be the same in style and materials as is de- 
scribed by the early missionaries to the Carib; while the negroes of 
Nevis manufacture pottery of the same form and ornament and 
burn it in much the same way as that found in the middens of St. 
Kitts. In working their spells, the obia men commonly sprinkle 
stone objects with the blood of a goat, and the common people re- 
gard petroglyphs as “jumbies,” or bugaboos. A great number of 
folk tales of a mixed aboriginal and negro type are still recounted 
in the cabins of the lowly, where Carib names for animals, plants, 
and places are household words. 

On his return to Washington Dr. Fewkes undertook the preparation 
of a report on his archeological researches in the West Indies, and 
considerable progress therein had been made by the close of the 
fiscal year. 

Mr. James Mooney, ethnologist, was occupied during the greater 
part of the year with the investigation of Indian population, which 
has engaged his attention for a considerable time. This research 
covers the whole period from the first occupancy of the country by 
white people to the present time, and includes the entire territory from 
the Rio Grande to the Arctic. To make possible systematic treat- 
ment the area covered has been mapped into about 25 sections, each 
of which constitutes approximately a single geographical and his- 
torical unit for separate treatment, although numerous migrations 
and removals, and the frequent formation of new combinations, neces- 
sitate a constant overlapping of the work of the sections. Several of 
the eastern areas have been completed and more or less progress has 
been made with each of the others. More recently Mr. Mooney has 
concentrated attention on Alaska and western Canada, for the Arctic 
parts of which Mr. Vilhjalmur Stefansson and Dr. Waldemar 
Jochelson have generously furnished new and valuable data. In 
this memoir the plan is to include chapters on notable epidemics, vital 
statistics, and race admixture, and the work is intended to appear as 
a monograph on the subject. 

On June 18, 1913, Mr. Mooney proceeded to the Eastern Cherokee 
Indians in North Carolina to continue his investigations of the med- 
ical and religious ritual of that tribe, commenced a number of years 
ago, as it was deemed wise to finish this part of his Cherokee studies 
as soon as practicable by reason of the changes that are so rapidly 
taking place among this people. Mr. Mooney was still in the field 
at the close of the fiscal year. 

Dr. John R. Swanton, ethnologist, continued, both in the field and 
at the office, his studies of the Indians formerly occupying the ter- 
ritory of the southern States. He spent the month of November, 
1912, with the Alabama and Koasati Indians in Polk County, Tex., 
where he recorded 250 pages of texts in the dialects spoken by these 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 49 


two tribes, corrected several texts obtained on earlier expeditions, 
and added materially to his general ethnological information regard- 
ing them. In December Dr. Swanton proceeded to Oklahoma, where 
he obtained about 50 pages of text in Hitchiti, a language now con- 
fined to a very few persons among the Creek Indians, and collected a 
few notes regarding the Choctaw. 

Before his departure from Washington and after his return Dr. 
Swanton spent the greater part of the time in collecting information 
_ concerning the Southern tribes from early Spanish, French, and 
English authorities. Considerable attention was also devoted to 
reading the proofs of the Rev. Cyrus Byington’s Choctaw Dictionary, 
now in process of printing, in which labor he was efficiently aided 
by Mr. H. S. Halbert, of the Alabama State department of archives 
and history. Dr. Swanton also commenced a general grammatical 
study of the languages of the Muskhogean stock, particularly Ala- 
bama, Hitchiti, and Choctaw, and in order to further this work he 
was subsequently engaged in making a preliminary stem catalogue 
of Creek from the material recorded by the late Dr. Gatschet, similar 
to the catalogue already prepared for Hitchiti, Alabama, and 
Natchez. He began also the preparation of a card catalogue of words 
in Timucua, the ancient extinct language of Florida, taken from the 
grammar and catechisms of Father Pareja. In May, Dr. Swanton 
visited New York in order to examine rare Timucua works in the 
Buckingham Smith collection of the New York Historical Society. 
Through the courtesy of this society and of the New York Public 
Library arrangements have been made for furnishing photostat 
copies of these rare and important books, and the reproductions were 
in preparation at the close of the fiscal year. 

In connection with the researches of Dr. Swanton, it is gratifying 
to report that he was awarded last spring the second Loubat prize in 
recognition of his two publications—* Tlingit Myths and Texts ” and 
“Indian Tribes of the Lower Mississippi Valley and Adjacent Coast 
of the Gulf of Mexico ”—both issued by the bureau. 

Mrs. M. C. Stevenson, ethnologist, devoted her time to the con- 
clusion of her researches among the Tewa Indians of New Mexico 
and to the preparation of a paper on that interesting and conserva- 
tive people. A preliminary table of contents of the proposed memoir 
indicates that her studies of the customs and beliefs of the Tewa will 
be as comprehensive as the published results of her investigations of 
the Sia and the Zui tribe of the same State. As at present outlined, 
the work, which will soon be completed, will contain six sections, deal- 
ing with the following subjects, respectively: Philosophy, anthropic 
worship and ritual, zoic worship, social customs, material culture, and 
history. 

44863°—sm 1913——4 


50 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


Dr. Truman Michelson, ethnologist, continued his studies among 
the Algonquian tribes. In the middle of July, 1912, he proceeded 
to the Fox Indians, at Tama, Iowa, from whom a large additional 
body of mythological material was obtained; this, in connection with 
the myths and legends in the form of texts gathered during the 
previous season, approximates 7,000 pages. When the translation 
of this material shall have been finished it will form one of the most 
exhaustive collections of mythology of any Indian tribe. It is note- 
worthy that these myths and tales differ essentially in style from. 
those gathered by the late Dr. William Jones (scarcely any of whose 
material has been duplicated by Dr. Michelson), a fact that empha- 
sizes the necessity of recording such material in the aboriginal tongue. 
It may be added that the myths and tales collected are also important 
in the light they shed on the dissemination of myths. Study of the 
social and ceremonial organization of the Fox Indians was likewise 
continued, and especially full notes were obtained on their Religion 
dance. Many of the songs of one of the drums were recorded on a 
dictaphone and several photographs of the native ball game were 
secured. 

Dr. Michelson next proceeded to Haskell Institute, the nonreserva- 
tion Indian school at Lawrence, Kans., for the purpose of obtaining 
notes on Atsina (Gros Ventre) and several other Algonquian lan- 
guages, the results of which show definitely that Atsina shares with 
Arapaho all the deviations from normal Algonquian, and that Pota- 
watomi is further removed from Ojibwa, Ottawa, and Algonkin 
than any one of these is from the others. 

Dr. Michelson next visited the Munsee, in Kansas, but found that, 
unfortunately, little is now available in the way of information 
except as to their language, which is still spoken by about half a 
dozen individuals, though none employ it habitually. 

The Delawares of Oklahoma were next visited, Dr. Michelson find- 
ing that their aboriginal customs are still retained to a large extent. 
Extended observations were made on several dances, and, to a lesser 
extent, on the social organization. From a study of the Delaware 
language, together with the Munsee dialect of Kansas, it was ascer- 
tained, as had previously been surmised, that the Delaware language 
of the early Moravian missionary Zeisberger represents no single 
dialect but a medley of several dialects. 

On his way to Washington Dr. Michelson stopped again at Tama 
to obtain additional notes on the Fox Indians; at the same time he 
succeeded in arranging for the acquirement of certain sacred packs 
for the National Museum. He also visited Chicago and New York 
for the purpose of making comparative observations on the material 
culture of the Fox tribe, based on collections in the museums of those 
cities. 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 51 


On his arrival in Washington, at the close of December, Dr. 
Michelson undertook the translation and study of some of the Fox 
myths; the results indicate that very great firmness in the word unit 
in Algonquian is more apparent than real, and that the classification 
of stems must be revised. Dr. Michelson also brought to conclusion 
his translation of the Kickapoo myths and tales collected by the late 
Dr. Jones, to which were added notes on Kickapoo grammar and 
comparative notes on the myths and tales, the whole making some- 
what more than 300 pages. 

Through correspondence Dr. Michelson succeeded in arranging 
for the acquirement of other sacred packs of the Fox Indians, which 
have been deposited in the National Museum. He also aided in 
furnishing information in answer to inquiries by various corre- 
spondents, and from time to time supplied data for incorporation in 
a new edition of the Handbook of American Indians. 

From the investigations of the bureau it seemed that the Siouan 
and Muskhogean languages resembled each other morphologically. 
In view of these circumstances, it was deemed desirable that the 
Catawba, one of the Siouan tongues, should be restudied, and ac- 
cordingly, toward the close of May, 1913, Dr. Michelson proceeded 
to South Carolina, where the remnant of the Catawba tribe still 
reside. Unfortunately, it was found that the language is all but 
extinct, not even half a dozen persons being able to recall phrases, 
although isolated words can still be had in goodly number. Owing 
to this paucity of text material it is hardly likely that the grammar 
of Catawba will ever be completely elucidated, and as no compara- 
tive study with other Siouan dialects has yet been made, it is not 
practicable at present to say with which Siouan group the language 
is most closely associated. A considerable number of native songs 
are still remembered by the surviving Catawba, nearly all of which 
Dr. Michelson succeeded in recording by dictaphone. 

Mr. J. N. B. Hewitt, ethnologist, was occupied during the year in 
translating unedited Seneca texts of myths which were collected by 
himself in 1896 and at other times on the Cattaraugus Reservation 
in western New York and on the Grand River Reservation in Ontario, 
Canada. These myths, legends, and tales number 13 in all. In addi- 
tion, Mr. Hewitt undertook the editing of two Seneca texts— The 
Legend of S‘hagowé’‘not‘ha’, or The Spirit of the Tides,” and “The 
Tale of Doi’danégé” and Hotkwisdadegé”’ a‘ ”’—recorded by him- 
self in the form of field notes in 1896 and aggregating 95 typewritten 
pages. At the close of the fiscal year about one-third of this work 
was completed. To these texts interlinear translations are to be added 
for the purpose of aiding in the grammatic study of the Seneca 
tongue. 


52 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


Mr. Hewitt also devoted much time to the collection and prepara- 
tion of data for answers to correspondents of the bureau, especially 
with reference to the Iroquoian and Algonquian tribes. 

Mr. Francis La Flesche, ethnologist, continued his investigations 
of the ethnology of the Osage Indians, giving particular attention to 
their rituals and accompanying songs. He was enabled to record on 
the dictaphone the songs and fragments of the rituals belonging 
to the Waxobe degree of the No" ho"zhi"ga rites, of which, as noted in 
the last annual report, he has been making a special study. These 
rituals have been transcribed and, with the 84 songs that have been 
transcribed in musical notation by Miss Alice C. Fletcher, comprise 
66 typewritten pages. 

Mr. La Flesche has also been able to record the No” zhi"zho*, or 
Fasting degree, of the Puma and Black Bear gentes. These two 
organizations are closely related; they not only use in common the 
songs and rituals of the No™’ho*zhitga rites, but they even go to the 
extent of exchanging gentile personal names as full recognition 
of their relationship. The No’zhitzho" degree employs 12 rituals 
and numerous songs, of which latter 81 have been recorded. These 
songs are divided into two great groups, the first of which is known as 
“The Seven Songs,” having 16 sets, and the second, “ The Six Songs,” 
having 17 sets. The Osage texts of these rituals and songs cover 207 
pages, about three-fourths of which have been finally typewritten. 
The 81 songs have been transcribed in musical notation by Miss 
Fletcher, while the translation of the rituals and the words of the 
songs is In progress. 

In the autumn of 1912 Mr. La Flesche was fortunate in securing 
in full the Ni’k’i degree of these intricate Osage rites. Hitherto he 
had been able to obtain only the beginning of this degree, but his in- 
formant was finally induced to recite it in its entirety, comprising 
1,542 lines. The real title of this degree is Ni’k’1 No"k’o", “ The Hear- 
ing of the Words of the People.” In it the genesis of the tribe is 
given in a story made up of myth, legend, and symbolism, the whole 
being clearly devised to keep the people ever mindful of the necessity 
of an orderly and authoritative conduct of war. It goes to show that 
the principle of war was early recognized by the Osage as the surest 
means by which not only tribal and individual life might be safe- 
guarded against strange and hostile tribes, but also as the means by 
which the tranquil enjoyment of game and other natural products of 
their environment might be won. It is to this coveted tranquillity 
that the closing lines of many of the rituals refer, invariably likening 
it to a “serene day.” This degree employs ritual almost entirely, 
there being only 10 songs. The native ritual comprises 57 type- 
written pages, of which a large part has been translated. 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 5S 


In the spring of 1913 Mr. La Flesche obtained the Rush Mat Weav- 
ing degree of the Puma and Black Bear gentes. Only the “ Seven 
Songs” spoken of before, with various ceremonial forms, are em- 
ployed in this degree, the “ Six Songs” being entirely omitted. The 
distinguishing features are the ceremonial weaving of the rush mat 
for the sacred case in which were enshrined the bird and other sacred 
objects, the renewal of all the articles that make up the sacred 
bundle, and the ceremonial stitching of the ends of the case. In some 
respects this is one of the most extraordinary degrees of the Osage 
that Mr. La Flesche has yet observed, since in its performance there 
are used 70 brass kettles, 70 red-handled knives, and 70 awls in mak- 
ing the various articles, all of which the votary is obliged to furnish, 
together with other expensive articles that constitute the fees of the 
initiator and other officiating No" ho"zhi*ga, as also 70 pieces of choice 
jerked meat for distribution among the members attending the initia- 
tion. Three rituals not used in the other degrees are employed in 
this, namely, the Green Rush ritual, the Bark ritual, and the Stitch- 
ing and Cutting ritual. There are 61 pages of Osage text, about half 
of which have been transcribed. 

Mr. La Flesche also obtained the rituals and songs of the Washabe 
Athi”, “The Carrying of a Dark Object,” with full description of 
the various processions and ceremonial forms. This is a war cere- 
mony, which, although not counted as a degree, is a rite to which 
the seven degrees lead. The name of this ceremony is derived from 
the war insignia, which is the charcoal ceremonially prepared from 
certain sacred trees, and which symbolizes the black marks denoting 
the birds and animals used to typify strength, courage, and fleetness. 
Mr. La Flesche’s Osage informant regards this as the final act of 
the seven degrees. The Osage text comprises 90 pages, nearly one- 
half of which has been transcribed, together with 36 songs, which 
have been transcribed by Miss Fletcher, and 7 diagrams. 

Mr. La Flesche was fortunate enough to procure the sacred bundle 
of the Deer gens and the reed-whistle bundle of the Wind gens; the 
contents of the latter are of exceptional interest. Mrs. Brogahige, 
one of the ceremonial weavers of the Osage, at considerable sacrifice 
to herself, presented Mr. La Flesche two sacred looms, one of which 
is used in weaving the buffalo-hair case, and the other in weaving 
the rush case for the sacred bird. These packs, together with speci- 
mens of ceremonially made burden straps which Mr. La Flesche c¢ol- 
lected, have been placed in the National Museum. 

Dr. Franz Boas, honorary philologist, continued the preparation of 
the material for the Handbook of American Indian Languages. As 
stated in the last annual report, the manuscript of the grammar of 
the Chukchee language, to appear in Part 2 of this handbook, was 
completed and in its final form was discussed with the author, Mr. 


54 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


Waldemar Bogoras, during the visit of Dr. Boas to Berlin in the 
summer of 1912. The results of these discussions were embodied in 
the work, the manuscript was delivered, and the typesetting com- 
menced. At the same time Dr. Boas studied the Koryak texts col- 
lected by Mr. Bogoras, published in accordance with the plan pre- 
viously outlined, at the expense of the American Ethnological 
Society, and the indispensable references were embodied in the gram- 
matical sketch. 

The Coos grammar by Dr. Leo J. Frachtenberg was completed, so 
far as the work of the editor, Dr. Boas, is concerned, the page proofs 
having been finally revised. 

The manuscript for the Siuslaw grammar, also by Dr. Frachten- 
berg, was submitted and the editing considerably advanced; this 
will be completed as soon as the entire series of Siuslaw texts are in 
print, a work that has been undertaken under Dr. Boas’s editorship 
by Columbia University. All the collected texts are now in type, 
so that examples can be added to the manuscript of the grammar. 

Dr. Frachtenberg remained in Siletz, Oreg., throughout the year 
for the purpose of revising on the spot the materials on the Oregon 
languages. He was engaged in collecting and arranging the Alsea 
material for Part 2 of the Handbook of Languages, and in preparing 
for the discussion of his Molala linguistics. The rapid disappearance 
of the Calapooya may make it necessary, however, to complete the 
field work on the language of this people before closing the work 
on the other manuscripts, even though this procedure may entail delay 
in the printing of the volume. 

Dr. Alexander F. Chamberlain, of Clark University, who has 
undertaken the preparation of a grammar of the Kutenai language, 
expects to deliver his manuscript early in the new fiscal year. The 
printing of this sketch must necessarily be delayed until the text 
material is available in print. 

Miss Haessler continued her preparations for a careful revision of 
the Dakota Dictionary by Riggs, a work made necessary by reason 
of the need of greater precision in phonetics and translation, as well 
as of a more systematic arrangement of the material. Miss Haessler 
expects to complete all the preliminary work by the summer of 1914, 
so that, should facilities be available, she will then be able to under- 
take the required field work. 

Miss Frances Densmore continued her studies in Indian music, 
devoting special attention to that of the Sioux, and during the year 
submitted three papers, comprising 252 pages of manuscript, original 
phonographic records and musical transcription of 107 songs, and 23 
original photographic illustrations. Three subjects have been ex- 
haustively studied and a fourth is represented in such manner that 
the results may be regarded as ready for publication. The three 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 55 


principal subjects are: The sacred stones, dreams about animals, and 
the buffalo hunt. The fourth subject referred to relates to the war- 
path and is represented by about 20 songs, but it awaits further study 
of the military societies. A special group of songs consists of those 
which have been composed and sung by the Sioux in honor of Miss 
Densmore. 

A study of the music of the Mandan and Hidatsa at Fort Berthold, 
N. Dak., was made by Miss Densmore in the summer of 1912, in coop- 
eration with the Historical Society of the State of North Dakota. 
The results of this investigation consist of a manuscript of about 50 
pages, with transcriptions of 40 songs. 

Miss Densmore also read the proofs of Bulletin 53 (Chippewa 
Music—IT), which is now in press. 

Mr. W. H. Holmes, head curator of the department of anthro- 
pology of the United States National Museum, continued the prep- 
aration of the Handbook of American Archeology for publication 
by the bureau, as far as the limited time available for the purpose 
permitted. Aside from the preparation of the text and illustra- 
tions for parts 1 and 2 of this handbook, Mr. Holmes made field 
observations among the ancient mica mines in western North Caro- 
lina and among mounds and village sites in South Carolina and 
Georgia. He also visited a number of museums for the purpose of 
examining the collections of archeological material, among them 
being the museums of Boston, Andover, New York City, Philadel- 
phia, Columbus, Chicago, Milwaukee, Madison, Davenport, and St. 
Louis. 

Mr. D. I. Bushnell, jr., made good progress in the compilation of 
the Handbook of Aboriginal Remains East of the Mississippi, the 
manuscript material for which, recorded on cards, now approximates 
160,000 words. The collated material has been derived from (1) replies 
to circular letters addressed to county clerks in all of the States east of 
the Mississippi, (2) communications from various societies and indi- 
viduals, and (3) publications pertaining to the subject of American 
antiquities. It is gratifying to state that there are very few areas 
not covered by the material already in hand, and it is expected that 
through the systematic manner in which Mr. Bushnell is prosecuting 
the work the handbook will be as complete as it is practicable to make 
it by the time it is ready. for publication. 

The investigations conducted jointly in 1910 and 1911 by the bu- 
reau and the School of American Archeology have borne additional 
fruit. An extended memoir on the Ethnogeography of the Tewa 
Indians, by J. P. Harrington, was received and will appear as the 
“accompanying paper” of the Twenty-ninth Annual Report, now 
in press. Three bulletins, namely, (No. 54) The Physiography of 
the Rio Grande Valley, New Mexico, in Relation to Pueblo Culture, 


56 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


by Edgar L. Hewett, Junius Henderson, and W. W. Robbins; (No. 
55) The Ethnobotany of the Tewa Indians, by Barbara W. Freire- 
Marreco, W. W. Robbins, and J. P. Harrington; and (No. 56) The 
Ethnozoology of the Tewa Indians, by Junius Henderson and J. P. 
Harrington, were also presented as a part of the results of the joint 
expeditions and are either published or in process of printing. Mr. 
Harrington also made progress in the preparation of his report 
on the Mohave Indians, and Miss Freire-Marreco is expected to 
submit shortly an extended paper on the Yavapai tribe. There re- 
mains to be mentioned in this connection another memoir, namely, 
An Introduction to the Study of the Maya Meroglyphs, by Sylvanus 
G. Morley; while not a direct product of the joint work of the 
bureau and the school, this is in a measure an outgrowth of it. The 
manuscript, together with the accompanying illustrations, has been 
submitted to the bureau, but is now temporarily in the author’s hands 
for slight revision. 

Since the publication of the Handbook of American Indians, 
through which additional popular interest in our aborigines has been 
aroused, it has been the desire to make a beginning toward the prepa- 
ration of a series of handbooks devoted to the Indians of the re- 
spective States. The opportunity was fortunately presented toward 
the close of the fiscal year, when the bureau was enabled to enlist the 
aid of Dr. A. L. Kroeber, of the University of California, who has . 
kindly consented to undertake the preparation of the initial volume 
of the series, to be devoted to the Indians of California. It is planned 
to present the material in each volume in as popular a form as prac- 
ticable, in order that it may be made of the greatest use to schools, 
and it is hoped that the means may be soon available to make pos- 
sible the extension of the series to other States. 

Under a small allotment from the bureau, Mr. James Murie con- 
tinued his studies of Pawnee ceremonies. He devoted special atten- 
tion to the medicine rites, and on June 13, 1913, submitted a descrip- 
tion of the ritual pertaining to the “ Purification of the Buffalo 
Skull ”. 

The transcription of the manuscript French-Miami Dictionary in 
the John Carter Brown Library at Providence, R. I., to which at- 
tention has been directed in previous reports, was finished by Miss 
Margaret Bingham Stillwell, who submitted the last pages of the 
vocabulary (which number 1,120 in all) early in January, 1913. 
The bureau is under obligations to Mr. George Parker Winship, 
librarian of the John Carter Brown Library, for his generous co- 
operation in placing this valued document at the disposal of the 
bureau and to Miss Stillwell for the efficient manner in which this 
difficult task was accomplished. 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 5 


In the latter part of the fiscal year Mr. Jacob P. Dunn, of Indian- 
apolis, in whose hands the French-Miami Dictionary was placed for 
study, commenced the annotation of the transcription and the addi- 
tion of English equivalents. This necessitated a journey to Okla- 
homa, where Mr. Dunn enlisted the services of a Miami Indian as 
an interpreter. The result of these studies consists of (a) the 
French-Miami-English Dictionary, from Adbbaiser to Cajeux; (6) 
The History of Genesis, Chapter I, being Peoria text with Miami- 
English translation; (¢) English-Miami Dictionary, from Abandon 
to Aim; (d) Wissakatcakwa Stories, recorded in Peoria by the late 
Dr. Gatschet, for which Mr. Dunn has made an interlinear trans- 
lation. 

The compilation of the List of Works Relating to Hawai was 
continued by Prof. Howard M. Ballou, of the College of Hawaii, 
who from time to time has submitted additional titles. The record- 
ing of the material by more than one person necessarily resulted in 
more or less inconsistency in form; consequently the manuscript, 
which consists of many thousands of cards, has been in need of edi- 
torial revision in order to insure uniformity. For this revision the 
bureau has been fortunate in enlisting the services of Mr. Felix 
Neumann, an experienced bibliographer, who is making progress in 
the work. 

PUBLICATIONS. 


The editorial work of the bureau has been conducted as usual by 
Mr. J. G. Gurley, editor. The following publications were issued 
during the year: 

Twenty-eighth Annual Report, containing “ accompanying 
papers” as follows: (1) Casa Grande, by Jesse Walter Fewkes; 
(2) Antiquities of the Upper Verde River and Walnut Creek Valleys, 
Arizona, by Jesse Walter Fewkes; (8) Preliminary Report on the 
Linguistic Classification of Algonquian Tribes, by Truman Michelson. 

Bulletin 30, Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico, 
edited by Frederick Webb Hodge. By concurrent resolution of 
Congress, in August, 1912, a reprint of this bulletin was ordered in 
an edition of 6,500 copies, of which 4,000 were for the use of the 
House of Representatives, 2,000 for the use of the Senate, and 500 
for the use of the bureau. This reprint, in which were incorporated 
such desirable alterations as could be conveniently made without 
affecting the pagination of the work, was issued in January, 1913. 

Bulletin 52, Karly Man in South America, by AleS Hrdlicka, in 
collaboration with William H. Holmes, Bailey Willis, Fred. Eugene 
Wright, and Clarence N. Fenner. 

Bulletin 54, The Physiography of the Rio Grande Valley, New 
Mexico, in Relation to Pueblo Culture, by Edgar Lee Hewett, Junius 
Henderson, and Wilfred William Robbins. 


58 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


The work on the other publications during the year may be sum- 
marized as follows: 

Twenty-ninth Annual Report (“ accompanying paper,” The Ethno- 
geography of the Tewa Indians, by John Peabody Harrington). 
Manuscript prepared for the printers and nearly half of the com- 
position finished. 

Thirtieth Annual Report (“accompanying papers”: (1) Animism 
and Folklore of the Guiana Indians, by Walter E. Roth; (2) Tsim- 
shian Mythology, by Franz Boas; (3) Ethnobotany of the Zuni 
Indians, by Matilda Coxe Stevenson). Editing of the third paper 
and to a considerable extent that of the first paper completed. 

Bulletin 40, Handbook of American Indian Languages, by Franz 
Boas—Part 2. Work on the Coos section nearly finished and com- 
position of the Chukchee section begun. Two sections (Takelma and 
Coos) are now “ made up,” aggregating 429 pages. 

Bulletin 46, A Dictionary of the Choctaw Language, by Cyrus 
Byington, edited by John R. Swanton and H. S. Halbert. The 
editors have revised two galley proofs of the Choctaw-English sec- 
tion of this dictionary and have practically finished preparation for 
the printers of the English-Choctaw section. The first part of this 
bulletin is now in process of paging. 

Bulletin 53, Chippewa Music—II, by Frances Densmore. Manu- 
script edited and the several proofs read, including proofs of 180 
pieces of music. At the énd of the year the bulletin was held in the 
Printing Office awaiting receipt of the necessary paper stock. 

Bulletin 55, Ethnobotany of the Tewa Indians, by Barbara Whit- 
church Freire-Marreco, Wilfred William Robbins, and John Pea- 
body Harrington. Manuscript edited and the work in galley form at 
the close of the year. 

Bulletin 56, Ethnozoology of the Tewa Indians, by Junius Hender- 
son and John Peabody Harrington. Manuscript edited and the work 
in page form at the close of the year. 

In accordance with the act of Congress approved August 23, 1912, 
the entire stock of publications of the bureau, with the exception of 
a few copies of each available work which have been retained at the 
Smithsonian Institution for special purposes, was transferred to the 
Government Printing Office in October, 1912, for distribution from 
the office of the superintendent of documents on order from the 
bureau. It has been found that this plan of distribution is highly 
successful, and, of course, much less expensive to the bureau. 

The correspondence relating to publications, of which 15,070 were 
distributed during the year, was conducted under the immediate 
supervision of Miss Helen Munroe, of the Smithsonian Institution. 
The distribution of the publications may be summarized as follows: 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 59 


Series: Copies. 
Report volumes andseparate, papers oo 0i aw ee ee a 3, 895 
TEATS ENUM 210. SO EPEC eV PW POLES A 11, 040 
Contributions to North American Ethnology______________ 15 
STDS PTH EVE COIS) SN ay SR Os Sc i RM UP Wt ELE 21 7 
MEISEEMANECOUS SOUDLIGATIONS® 2 eee ew tog ta a Nn 118 

15, 070 


The demand for the Handbook of American Indians (Bulletin 30) 
continues unabated, by reason of the wide scope of the work, its 
popular form of treatment, and its usefulness to schools. There is an 
increasing demand for publications relating to Indian arts and crafts, 
and to archeology. Theactivityintheestablishment of organizations 
of Camp Fire Girls throughout the country has resulted in a flood of 
requests for information relative to Indian customs, names, ete. 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


As in the past, the preparation of illustrations for use in connection 
with the publications of the bureau, as well as the making of photo- 
graphic portraits of the members of visiting deputations of Indians, 
continued in the immediate charge of Mr. De Lancey Gill, illustrator, 
whose work during the year included the making of negatives of 113 
visiting Indians and of 93 miscellaneous ethnologic subjects; he also 
developed 298 negatives exposed by members of the bureau in their 
field work, printed 975 photographs for official publication, exchange, 
and presentation to Indians, and prepared 105 drawings for repro- 
duction as illustrations for the publications of the bureau. 

The tribes or pueblos represented by Indians who visited Washing- 
ton during the year are: Acoma, Apache, Cheyenne, Chippewa, 
Cochiti, Crow, Isleta, Kiowa, Osage, Passamaquoddy, Ponca, San 
Juan, Santa Clara, Shoshoni, Sioux, Taos, and Wichita. Among the 
more important Indians whose portraits were made may be men- 
tioned Plenty Coups and Medicine Crow (Crow tribe), Big Man 
and Iron Bear (Brulé Sioux), Hollow Horn Bear, Red Cloud, and 
Red Hawk (Teton Sioux), Daybwawaindung (Chippewa), and Two 
Moons (Cheyenne). Many requests are made by correspondents for 
prints from the large collection of negatives in possession of the 
bureau, but it has not been possible to supply these, owing to lack 
of means, although in many cases they are desired for educational 
purposes. The series of photographs of representative Indians, from 
55 tribes, which was made during the last fiscal year for special ex- 
hibition at the New York Public Library, has been borrowed from 
the bureau by the Public Library Commission of Indiana for exhibi- 
tion in the public libraries throughout the State. In the work of the 
photographic laboratory Mr. Gill was assisted by Mr. Walter J. Sten- 
house. 


60 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 
LIBRARY. 


The library of the bureau continued in immediate charge of Miss 
Ella Leary, librarian, assisted by Mrs. Ella Slaughter. During the 
year the accessions comprised 562 volumes (of which 129 were pur- 
chased) and 244 pamphlets, bringing the total number of volumes in 
the library to 18,532, and the pamphlets to 12,744. The periodicals 
currently received by the bureau, of which there are several thousand 
unbound parts, number 629; of these all but 18 are obtained in ex- 
change for the bureau’s publications. Special attention was paid 
during the year to filling lacune in the periodical series. 

The cataloguing kept apace with the new accessions, and some 
progress was made in cataloguing ethnologic and related articles in 
the earlier serials. A monthly bulletin for the use of the members of 
the bureau staff was compiled and posted by the librarian, who also 
made a beginning in the preparation of a list of writings on the 
music of American Indians. 

As in the past, it was necessary to draw on the collections of the 
Library of Congress, about 300 volumes having been borrowed dur- 
ing the year. On the other hand, the library of the bureau is fre- 
quently consulted by officers of the departments of the Government, 
as well as by students not connected with the Smithsonian Institu- 
tion. 

While many volumes are still without binding, the condition of 
the library in this respect has greatly improved during the last few 
years; 493 volumes were bound at the Government Printing Office 
during the year. 

COLLECTIONS. 


The following collections were made by the bureau or by members 
of its staff during the fiscal year and transferred to the National 
Museum: 


54311. Six photographs (unmounted) taken by A. J. Horswill, San Jose, Min- 
doro, P. I., among the natives of Mindoro Island. Gift to the bureau by 
Munn & Co., New York. 

54465. Sacred pack of the Fox Indians of Iowa. Purchased fer the bureau by 
Dr. Truman Michelson. 

54691. Five pieces of cotton painted with Assyrian subjects. Received by the 
bureau from an unknown source. 

54798. Three sacred looms and seven burden straps of the Osage Indians. Col- 
lected by Francis La Flesche. 

54933. Three fragments of Indian pottery found at Red Willow, Nebr., by Mrs. 
Ada Buck Martin, by whom they were presented. 

54934. Sacred bundle of the Fox Indians. Purchased through Dr. Truman 
Michelson. 

54946. Two sacred bundles of the Osage Indians. Purchased by Francis La 


Flesche. 


ie i ie ge 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 61 


55002. Sacred bundle of the Fox Indians. Purchased through Dr. Truman 
Michelson. 

55075. An Osage buffalo-hair rope (reata) and an Osage woven belt. Pur- 
chased through Francis La Flesche. 

55234. Two ethnological objects from the natives of British Guiana, presented 
to the bureau by Dr. Walter E. Roth, of Pomeroon River, British Guiana. 

55323. Set of five plum-seed gaming dice of the Omaha Indians and a bottle of 
seeds used by the same Indians as perfume. Presented by Francis La 
Flesche. 

55420. Pair of Osage ceremonial moccasins and an Osage ceremonial ‘ pipe.” 
Presented by Francis La Flesche, 


PROPERTY. 


As stated in previous reports, the property of the bureau of great- 
est value consists of its library, manuscripts for reference or publi- 
cation, and photographic negatives. A reasonable number of cam- 
eras, dictagraphs, and other apparatus, chiefly for use in the field, 
as well as a limited stock of stationery and office supplies, necessary 
office furniture, and equipment, are also in possession of the bureau. 
The sum of $893.21 was expended for office furniture (including fire- 
proof filing cases) during the year, $452.57 for apparatus (including 
typewriters, cameras, dictagraphs, etc.), and $258.45 for books and 
periodicals. 

The manuscripts of the bureau, many of which are of extreme 
value, are deposited in metal cases in a small room in the north 
tower of the Smithsonian Building, which should be made as nearly 
fireproof as possible. Requests for a small appropriation to protect 
the manuscripts against possible destruction have been made in the 
past, but unfortunately the means have not been granted. The 
manuscripts, which have been in the immediate care of Mr. J. N. B. 
Hewitt, have increased from time to time during the year, chiefly 
by the temporary deposit of materials preparatory to editing for 
publication. Mention may here be made, however, of the gift of 
some manuscript Chippewa letters from the Rev. Joseph A. Gilfillan, 
and the acquirement of a photostat copy of the Motul-Maya Diction- 
ary, made at the expense of the bureau from the original in the John 
Carter Brown Library, at Providence, R. I., as elsewhere noted. 
Mention may also be made of various vocabularies or parts of vocabu- 
laries, 23 items in all, which were restored to the bureau by Mrs. 
Louisa H. Gatschet, who found them among Dr. Gatschet’s effects. 


MISCELLANEOUS. 


Quarters —Since the beginning of 1910 the offices of the bureau 
have occupied nine rooms in the north tower of the Smithsonian 
Building, and a room (the office of the ethnologist-in-charge) on the 
north side of the third floor of the eastern wing, while the library 


62 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


has occupied the entire eastern gallery of the large exhibition hall 
on the first floor, and the photographic laboratory part of the gal- 
lery in the southeastern section of the old National Museum building. 
While the natural lighting of the rooms in the north tower, by reason 
of the thickness of the walls and the narrowness of the windows, is 
inadequate, and the distance from the library and the photographic 
laboratory makes them not readily accessible, the office facilities are 
far better than when the bureau was housed in cramped rented 
quarters. Aside from the photographic laboratory and one room in 
the north tower, no part of the bureau’s quarters is provided with 
running water. It is presumed that after the rearrangement of the 
large exhibition hall in the Smithsonian building and its adaptation 
to general library purposes the facilities of the bureau library will 
be greatly improved. 

Office force-—The office force of the bureau has not been augmented, 
although the correspondence has greatly increased owing to the grow- 
ing demand on the bureau for information respecting the Indians. 
The copying of the rough manuscripts, field notes, etc., prepared by 
members of the bureau, as well as the verification of quotations, 
bibliographic citations, and similar work of a minor editorial nature, 
necessitate the employment of temporary aid from time to time. 
Most of the answers to correspondents who desire information of a 
special character have been prepared by the ethnologist-in-charge, 
but every member of the bureau’s scientific staff is frequently called 
on for the same purpose to furnish information pertaining to his 
particular field of knowledge. 


RECOMMENDATIONS. 


Tt is difficult to extend the systematic researches of the bureau 
along new and necessary lines without an increase of appropriations. 
When a special research is undertaken, several years are often re- 
quired to finish it, consequently the prospective income of the bureau 
for a considerable period is required to carry out adequately the work 
in hand. Opportunities are often presented for conducting investi- 
gations in new fields which have to be neglected owing to lack of 
means. An increase in the appropriations of the bureau has been 
urged for several years, but unfortunately the estimates have not 
been met with additional funds. 


Respectfully submitted. 
F. W. Hopes, 
Ethnologist-in-charge. 
Dr. Cuarues. D. WaAtcort, 
Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 
Washington, D. C. 


APPENDIX 3. 
REPORT ON THE INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGES. 


Sir: I have the honor to submit the following report on the opera- 
tions of the International Exchange Service during the fiscal year 
ending June 30, 1913. 

The appropriation made by Congress for ie support of the service 
during the year, including the allotment for printing and binding, 
was $32,200 (the same amount as appropriated for the past five 
years), and the repayments from private and departmental sources 
for services rendered aggregated $4,249.13, making the total available 
resources for carrying on the system of international exchanges 
$36,449.13. 

The work of the service is increasing at such a rapid rate that it 
will be necessary in the near future to ask Congress to supply addi- 
tional funds. More money is needed to meet freight charges on the 
increased number of boxes now shipped abroad, and also for miscel- 
laneous incidental expenses incurred in connection with the work of 
the service. In 1913, 66 per cent more packages were handled than 
in 1908, when the appropriation was first placed at $32,200, and 678 
more boxes were dispatched. By means of various economies and 
improvements in methods this increase in the volume of business has 
been provided for without adding to the total cost of the service; but 
little more can be done in this direction. 

During the year 1913 the total number of packages handled was 
338,621, an increase of 23,129, as compared with the preceding year. 
The weight of these packages was 593,969 pounds, an increase of 
25,257 pounds. 

The number and weight of the packages of different classes are in- 
dicated in the following table: 


Number and weight of packages sent and received. 


Packages. Weight. 


Sent. | Received.| Sent. | Received. 


Pounds. | Pounds. 


United States parliamentary documents sent abroad........- MAO S45) Cee gee 103;,820) | 2eeeeeeeee 
Publications received in return for parliamentary documents. .|.......... 2) 085/420. 11, 780 
United States departmental documents sent abroad.......... CAST CRY 6a Lem tel se 173,,962'|5.(52 eee 
Publications received in return for departmental documents. .|.......--- 9, O23 | haeceaniae 18, 847 
Miscellaneous scientific and literary publications sent abroad..| 62,446 |........--- 158, 22:7) 126 ements 
Miscellaneous scientific and literary publications received 
from abroad for distribution in the United States. .........].....-.--- 44) 885 (ios cb eee 127, 333 
Cell it AIRAR SRLS OG SCG ARE aU aR a 281, 728 56,893 | 436,009 157, 960 


Gorparred tater aes eens UN fete a 338,621 593,969 


63 


64 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


As was somewhat fully explained in last year’s report, the dis- 
parity between the number of packages dispatched and those re- 
ceived in behalf of ‘the Government is not so great as indicated by 
these figures. Packages sent abroad usually contain only a single 
publication each, while those received in return often comprise many 
volumes. In the case of publications received in exchange for par- 
liamentary documents and some others the term “ package ” is applied 
to large boxes containing a hundred or more publications. No lists 
of these are made in the Exchange Office, as the boxes are forwarded 
to their destinations unopened. It is also a fact that many returns 
for publications sent abroad reach their destinations direct by mail 
and not through the Exchange Service. 

Many governmental and scientific establishments and individuals, 
both in this country and abroad, have sought the aid of the Interna- 
tional Exchange Service during the year in procuring, as gifts or 
exchanges, certain especially desired publications. The correspond- 
ence which this work entails upon the Exchange Service is consider- 
able and is growing in volume from year to year. Sometimes infor- 
mation collected by this Government, but not to be found in pub- 
lished reports, is requested. In these instances the various govern- 
mental bureaus furnish the desired data in typewritten form. As 
an example of a request of this kind received during the year, a case 
may be mentioned in which valuable statistics concerning blister 
copper were supplied by the Bureau of the Census and the Bureau 
of Mines for transmission to the high commissioner of the Common- 
wealth of Australia for the use of his home Government. Another 
request of this character which was complied with was one received 
through the Department of State from the minister of public works 
and mines of New Zealand for publications containing the laws and 
regulations with respect to the boring, mining, and storage of petro- 
leum in the United States. In this instance, while the Bureau of 
Mines was in a position to furnish information on the mining of 
petroleum on Indian reservations, it was necessary for the Institution 
to write to the principal States having laws on the subject in question 
in order to obtain the desired data. It may, however, be added in 
this connection that the Bureau of Mines is engaged in collecting, 
arranging, and annotating all the laws, both National and State, 
relating to all branches of mining, including the petroleum industry, 
and that a copy of this work, when issued, will be furnished the 
Institution for presentation to the minister of public works. 

The Department of State, in referring a communication from the 
librarian of the Brazilian Press Association at Rio de Janeiro request- 
ing aid in the establishment of a library in that city to be composed 
entirely of the works of American writers, stated that while the 
department itself had no facilities for obtaining such publications it 


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REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 65 


was naturally interested in having the more important works of 
American writers, as well as the governmental documents con- 
taining statistical information, placed within easy reach of our 
neighbors in the Latin-American countries, and that it would be 
gratifying to the department if the Smithsonian Institution 
should find it practicable to send to the association such works and 
statistics regarding science, literature, agriculture, industry, com- 
merce, etc., as might seem suitable. The desire of the Brazilian 
Press Association was brought to the attention of certain govern- 
mental establishments and also of many scientific and literary organi- 
zations throughout the United States. The majority of these organi- 
zations gave the matter favorable attention, some of them sending 
complete sets of their publications and adding the name of the Ameri- 
can library to their lists to receive future issues. The Smithsonian 
Institution, I need hardly add, contributed a selection of its own 
publications. Altogether, more than 1,200 publications were received 
and transmitted to the Brazilian Press Association through the Inter- 
national Exchange Service as a nucleus for the proposed library. 

The chief of the bureau of publications of the Department of 
Agriculture and Forestry, Peking, China, while attending the Seven- 
teenth International Dry Farming Congress as a delegate from his 
Government, forwarded to this Institution, for distribution among 
the various State agricultural experiment stations, a number of copies 
of three issues of an agricultural journal published by his bureau, 
with the request that such bulletins as the experiment stations might 
issue from time to time be sent to his bureau in exchange. This 
matter was brought to the attention of the various stations, most of 
which complied with the request by sending copies of their bulletins 
and listing the name of the Chinese Department of Agriculture to 
receive their publications regularly in the future. 

Many requests for documents are received through the various 
exchange bureaus abroad, whose services are made use of by this 
Institution in procuring foreign publications for correspondents in 
this country. In this connection it may be mentioned that the Gov- 
ernment of India invariably requires that requests from establish- 
ments in this country for any extended series of Indian official docu- 
ments be made through the Exchange Service. In such instances 
the status of the society or establishment making the request is looked 
into, and statistics and other information relative thereto are fur- 

-mshed the Government of India with a recommendation, when 
_ deemed advisable, that the desired documents be furnished. 

The foregoing are only a few of the important instances in which 

the Institution has aided foreign establishments in obtaining pub- 
. lications, in pursuance of a policy of international helpfulness, which 
44863°—sM 1918——5 ' 


66 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


is of benefit to the larger intellectual and economic interests of both 
the United States and foreign countries. Many other requests of 
similar nature have been received from correspondents in this country 
and abroad. 

The Institution continues to assist the. Library of Congress in com- 
pleting its collections of foreign governmental documents. 

Mention was made last year of the fact that packages containing 
scientific and literary publications received from establishments and 
individuals in the United States for transmission through the Ex- 
change Service to miscellaneous addresses in the various Provinces of 
the Union of South Africa were forwarded to certain governmental 
establishments in those Provinces for distribution, and that the Govy- 
ernment of the Union had been approached with a view to having 
only one agency for the entire Union. It is now gratifying to state 
that this request has been complied with, the Government Printing 
Works at Pretoria having been designated to carry on the exchange 
work. Packages received in the future for addresses in any of the 
Provinces of the Union will therefore be transmitted to the Govern- 
ment Printing Works for distribution. This change will effect a 
saving to the Institution in freight charges, and will also, I have no 
doubt, improve the service with South Africa. Ifa similar arrange- 
ment could be made with the Commonwealth of Australia it would 
have decided advantages over the present method of forwarding con- 
signments to six different addresses in that Commonwealth for dis- 
tribution. The matter is now being considered by the Speaker of the 
House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Australia, who is 
also chairman of the library committee. The Institution has brought 
to the attention of that official the advantages to be derived from 
having one central exchange agency in Australia and has urged him 
to use his best endeavors to have the matter favorably considered by 
his Government. 

The Egyptian Exchange Agency has been transferred from the 
Egyptian Survey Department to the newly formed Government Pub- 
lications Department, consignments for distribution in that country 
now being forwarded in care of the Superintendent of the Govern- 
ment Publications Office, Printing Department, Cairo. It should be 
stated as a matter of record in this connection that the businesslike 
basis upon which the exchange service between Egypt and the United 
States has been placed during the Survey Department’s five years’ 
connection therewith has resulted in the prompt delivery of packages 
to correspondents in both countries. 

A circular was received during the year from the Republic of 
Mexico, stating that a Service of Exchanges had been established in 
the Department of Public Works. 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 


67 


Of the 2,587 boxes used in forwarding exchanges to foreign bu- 
reaus and agencies for distribution (an increase of 192 over 1912), 
386 boxes contained full sets of United States official documents for 
authorized depositories, and 2,201 were filled with departmental and 
other publications for depositories of partial sets and for miscel- 


laneous correspondents. 


The number of boxes sent to each foreign 


country and the dates of transmission are shown in the following 


Consignments of exchanges for foreign countries. 


table: 
a Number 
Country. of boxes. 
ARGENTINA ......-.---- 43 
PASTESUTUENPIAS Snes = Sih 4) 99 
BPLGIUME Ss. 255002. 05. 77 
HS ORDVTA ea acic 2 Sess sie 5 
PEROT ee seco laisse wie 42 
BRITISH COLONIES..... 17 
BRITISH GUIANA...-.... 5 
ISURGNRIAS:. 2-22 o2e 6 
(SOR Se a 7 
(GitUd Oe Oeke 2 Se eee ea 28 
GHINAGE Ue. S57 22S 5 18 
COLOMBIA Oeics weit. <5 20 
CWOSTAPRIGA 3 obec: 16 
(Ghopey!\ 44h Se 7 
DM NMAR RE 2. 2 ole 35 
IG UADORe eke eo. o 6 
Den art OE ey 13 
SDAIN So eae SoS 230 
GIANG Ye ia 422 
GREAT BRITAIN AND 439 

IRELAND. 

(E101 0101 0} a a 19 
GUATEMALA........... 6 
Ve Oy fi ao vf 
FIONDURAS!2... S80 9224) 6 
PUN GARY 3. 252. ssc 45 
UNDE A ee aug Be 46 


Date of transmission. 


July 24, Aug. 24, Sept. 25, Oct. 23, Nov. 25, 1912; Jan. 18, Feb. 26, Apr, 
3, June 4, 20, 1913. 

July 10, Aug. 7, Sept. 11, Oct. 9, Dec. 11, 1912; Jan. 8, Feb. 5, Mar. 12, 
Apr. 9, May 14, June 11, 20, 1913. 

July 6, 27, Aug. 17, 31, Sept. 20, Oct. 12, Nov. 15, Dec. 7, 1912; Jan. 11, 
Feb. 1, Mar. 8, 29, Apr. 12, May 3, June 7, 28, 1913. 

Aug. 28, Nov. 30, 1912; Feb. 27, Apr. 3, June 9, 1913. 

July 24, Aug. 24, Sept. 25, Oct. 23, Nov. 25, Dec. 19, 1912; Jan. 16, Feb. 
26, Apr. 3, June 5, 20, 1913. 

July 6, 13, Aug. 3, 10, 17, Sept. 7, 21, Nov. 16, 1912; Feb. 8, 15, Mar. 22, 
29, Apr. 18, May 2, 24, June 6, 27, 1913. 

Sept. 19, Oct. 31, 1912; Jan. 22, Feb. 28, June 16, 1913. 

Jan. 6, Feb. 27, Apr. 5, June 10, 1913. 

July 30, Aug. 31, Dec. 2, 1912; Feb. 1, Mar. 13, May 5, June 20, 1913. 

July 24, Aug. 24, Sept. 25, Nov. 25, 1912; Jan. 18, Feb. 26, Apr. 3, June 
5, 20, 1913. 

July 30, 31, Aug. 31, Sept. 19, Nov. 8, Dec. 2, 13, 1912; Jan. 3, 29, Feb. 
1, Mar. 1, 6, 13, Apr. 29, May 5, June 10, 20, 1913. 

Aug. 28, Oct. 23, Nov. 30, 1912; Jan. 18, Feb. 26, Apr. 3, June 9, 20, 1913. 

July 24, Aug. 28, Sept. 26, Nov. 30, 1912; Jan. 18, Feb. 26, Apr. 3, 
June 9, 20, 1913. 

July 30, Aug. 31, Dec. 2, 1912; Feb. 1, Mar. 13, May 5, June 20, 1913. 

July 20, Aug. 15, Sept. 19, Oct. 17, Nov. 18, Dec. 12, 1912; Jan. 16, Feb. 
14, Mar. 20, Apr. 15, May 21, June 24, 1913. 

Aug. 28, Nov. 30, 1912; Jan. 29, Feb. 27, May 1, June 9, 1913. 

Aug. 10, Sept. 14, Oct. 12, Nov. 23, Dec. 28, 1912; Feb. 8, Mar. 22, Apr. 
22, May 31, June 25, 1913. 

July 11, 25, Aug. 15, 29, Sept. 19, Oct. 3, 24, Nov. 13, Dec. 5, 26, 1912; 
Jan. 16, 30, Feb. 13, Mar. 6, 27, Apr. 10, 24, May 22, June 19, 20, 1913. 

July 2, 9, 16, 23, 30, Aug. 6, 18, 20, 27, Sept. 3, 10, 17, 24, Oct. 1, 8, 15, 
22, 29, Nov. 7, 19, 26, Dec. 3, 10, 17, 24, 1912; Jan. 7, 14, 21, 28, Feb. 
4, 11, 19, 25, Mar. 11, 18, 25, Apr. 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, May 6, 13, 20, 27, 
June 3, 10, 17, 24, 1913. 

July 6, 13, 20, 27, Aug. 3, 10, 17, 24, 31, Sept. 7, 14, 21, 28, Oct. 5, 12, 19, 26, 
Nov. 5, 9, 16, 23, 30, Dec. 7, 14, 21, 1912; Jan. 4, 11, 18, 25, Feb. 1, 8, 15, 
21, Mar. 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, Apr. 4, 11, 18, 25, May 2, 9, 16, 24, 31, June 6, 
14, 21, 27, 1913. 

Aug. 31, Oct. 31, 1912; Jan. 3, Feb. 27, Apr. 5, June 18, 20, 1913. 

Aug. 28, Nov. 30, 1912; Jan. 29, Feb. 27, May 1, June 9, 1913. 

July 30, Sept. 26, 1912; Jan. 3, Feb. 26, Apr. 3, June 7, 20, 1913. 

Aug. 28, Nov. 30, 1912; Jan. 29, Feb. 27, May 1, June 9, 1913. 

July 10, Aug. 7, Sept. 11, Oct. 9, Nov. 20, Dec. 11, 1912; Jan. 8, Feb. 5, 
Mar. 12, Apr. 9, May 14, June 11, 20, 1913. 

July 6, 13, 20, 27, Aug. 3, 10, 17, 24, 31, Sept. 7, 14, 21, 26, Oct. 5, 12, 26, 
Nov. 16, 30, Dec. 7, 14, 1912; Jan. 4, 18, 25, Feb. 8, 15, Mar. 1, 22, 29, 
Apr. 11, May 24, June 6, 27, 1913. 


68 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


Consignments of exchanges for foreign countries—Continued. 


Number 

Country. of boxes. 

RAD VA eee cc esc be senses 107 
AMEAIC AR cal cccce sss 6 
DIPON Gee oe ccce cases 61 
ROR WAG se Sales ae ae 5 
MUIBERIASS. 2686. cobs se 5 
LOURENGO MARQUEZ. . 2 
MANITOBA): occ tdinee5 ul 
IMSURICO fee ch cclslee'cras «2 7 
MONTENEGRO.......--- 2 
NETHERLANDS........- 53 
NEWFOUNDLAND.....-- 3 
New SouTH WALES... 31 
NEw ZEALAND........- 28 
INTCARAGUA sec cscacesss 4 
IS (ORE 7): rg =e ge ee 35 
ONTARIONSS o.uo- bees. ee 7 
IBALESTING 32 os o0s's2.<\- 8 
IBARAGUAYE. jue owiack 22 6 
PRU R amet cteetenicesce 18 
IRORTUGAL, oct. secu 23 
QTMBHCHE! seek 2 sc 2% if 
QUEENSLAND.....--.-- 20 
IRIOUMANTAL 2004) 125 . 2 9 
MUSSUAUEEE 2 oes e ewe cco 86 
SAMVADORS SE oo ctcc6 2: i 
Sion a 14 
DAUM tes SOMES oD oe cis 6 
SoutH AUSTRALIA..... 23 
SPAIN EU (3s tse weicslec'n « 35 
SWEDEN <2 .ccos's2c e552 65 
SWITZERLAND.......... 64 
YAR eee). cise s 4 
TASMANIA O86 fe) Sous 14 
STERINT DAD oer eee a 5 
TRUR KY is. ies Soe oe 12 
UNION QF SovuTH 28 

AFRICA 


Date of transmission. 


July 1, Aug. 10, Sept. 12, Oct. 12, Nov. 25, Dec. 28, 1912; Feb. 8, Mar. 
22, Apr. 22, May 31, June 25, 1913. 

Sept. 17, Nov. 30, 1912; Jan. 30, Feb. 28, May 1, June 16, 1913. 

July 20, Aug. 23, Sept. 20, Oct. 17, Nov. 25, Dec. 20, 1912; Jan. 21, Feb. 
20, Mar. 20, Apr. 17, June 20, 1913. 

Sept. 17, Nov. 30, 1912; Feb. 28, May 1, June 28, 1913. 

Sept. 18, Nov. 30, 1912; Feb. 28, May 1, June 16, 1913. 

Feb. 27, June 28, 1913. 

July 30, Aug. 31, Dec. 2, 1912; Feb. 1, Mar. 18, May 5, June 20, 1913. 

July 30, Aug. 31, Dec. 2, 1912; Feb. 1, Mar. 13, May 5, June 20, 1913. 

Feb. 27, June 30, 1913. 

July 9, 30, Aug. 13, 27, Sept. 10, Oct. 8, Nov. 18, Dec. 10, 1912; Jan. 14, 
29, Feb. 11, Mar. 11, 25, Apr. 8, May 6, 27, June 17, 20, 1913. 

July 31, 1912; Mar. 29, June 30, 1913. 

July 25, Aug. 21, Sept. 24, Oct. 17, Nov. 23, 1912; Jan. 15, Feb. 20, Mar. 
26, Apr. 16, May 26, June 23, 1913. 

July 25, Aug. 21, Sept. 24, Oct. 18, Nov. 23, 1912; Jan. 15, 28, Feb. 20, 
Mar. 26, Apr. 16, May 26, June 23, 1913. 

Noy. 30, 1912; Feb. 27, May 1, June 9, 1913. 

July 20, Aug. 15, Sept. 20, Oct. 17, Nov. 18, 1912; Jan. 3, Feb. 14, Mar. 
20, Apr. 15, May 21, June 24, 1913. 

July 30, Aug. 31, Dec. 2, 1912; Feb. 1, Mar. 13, May 5, June 20, 1913. 

Feb. 28, May 31, 1913. 


July 24, Aug. 27, Nov. 30, 1912; Feb. 27, Apr. 3, June 7, 1913. 

July 24, Aug. 24, Sept. 25, Nov. 25, 1912; Jan. 18, Feb. 26, Apr. 3, June 
5, 20, 1913. 

July 20, Aug. 15, Sept. 20, Oct. 17, Nov. 18, 1912; Jan. 3, Feb. 14, Mar. 
20, Apr. 15, May 21, June 30, 1913. 

July 30, Aug. 31, Dec. 2, 1912; Feb. 1, Mar. 13, May 5, June 20, 1913. 

July 25, Aug. 21, Sept. 24, Oct. 18, Nov. 23, 1912; Jan. 15, Feb. 20, Mar. 
26, Apr. 16, May 26, June 23, 1913. 

Aug. 28, Sept. 27, Nov. 25, 1912; Jan. 31, Feb. 27, Apr. 5, June 10, 1913. 

July 12, Aug. 8, Sept. 10, Oct. 10, Nov. 21, Dec. 21, 1912; Jan. 9, Feb. 6, 
Mar. 13, Apr. 10, May 15, June 12, 20, 1913. 

Aug. 28, Novy. 30, 1912; Feb. 27, May 1, June 9, 1913. 

July 30, Aug. 29, Sept. 27, 1912; Jan.3, Feb. 27, Apr. 5, June 10, 20, 1913. 

Sept. 18, Nov. 8, 1912; Jan. 3, Feb. 28, May 1, June 18, 1913. 

July 25, Aug. 21, Sept. 24, Oct. 17, Nov. 23, 1912; Jan. 15, Feb. 20, Mar. 
26, Apr. 16, May 26, June 23, 1913. 

Aug. 10, Sept. 12, Oct. 26, Nov. 30, Dec. 28, 1912; Feb. 8, Mar. 22, May 3, 
31, June 25, 1913. 

July 11, Aug. 8, Sept. 12, Oct. 10, Nov. 21, Dec. 12, 1912; Jan. 9, Feb. 6, 
Mar. 13, Apr. 10, May 15, June 12, 20, 1913. 

July 6, 27, Aug. 17, 31, Sept. 20, Oct. 12, Nov. 15, Dec. 7, 28, 1912; Jan. 
11, Feb. 1, Mar. 8, 29, Apr. 12, May 3, June 7, 28, 1913. 

Sept. 18, 1912; Jan. 30, Apr. 26, June 10, 1913. 

July 20, 1912; Feb. 8, Mar. 8, 29, Apr. 25, May 24, June 27, 1913. 

Sept. 17, Nov. 30, 1912; Feb. 28, May 1, June 28, 1913. 

July 31, Aug. 31, Sept. 18, Oct. 31, Nov. 8, 1912; Jan. 3, Feb. 26, 28, 
Apr. 5, June 10, 1913. 

July 31, Aug. 29, Sept. 26, Oct. 30, Nov. 25, 1912; Jan. 22, 28, Feb. 27, 
Apr. 5, May 10, June 20, 1913. 


ee 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 69 


Consignments of exchanges for foreign countries—Continued. 


Country. plies Date of transmission. 

URUGUAY A Seite oe: 19 | July 24, Aug. 28, Sept. 26, Oct. 23, Nov. 25, 1912; Jan. 18, Feb. 26, Apr, 
3, June 6, 20, 1913. 

VENEZUELA........--.. 16 | July 24, Aug. 28, Sept. 26, Nov. 30, 1912; Jan. 29, Feb. 26, Apr. 3, 
June 7, 1913. 

IMICTORIAC2 cS) UU. sas < 31 | July 2, Aug. 21, Sept. 24, Oct. 18, Nov. 23, 1912; Jan. 15, Feb. 20, Mar. 
26, Apr. 16, May 26, June 23, 1913. 

WESTERN AUSTRALIA.. 37 | July 6, 18, Aug. 17, 24, Sept. 7, 14, 21, Oct. 12, Nov. 5, 16, 30, Dec. 7, 14, 
1912; Jan. 4, 18, 25, Feb. 8, 15, Mar. 1, 29, Apr. 11, 25, May 24, June6, 
27, 1913. 

WINDWARD AND LEE- 5 ; Oct. 31, Nov. 30, 1912; Feb. 28, May 1, June 16, 1913. 


WARD ISLANDS. 


A part of the contents of a consignment forwarded under date of 
May 14 (boxes Nos. 1640-1646 and 7896) was damaged by water 
while in transit to the Central Statistical Commission in Vienna. 
Steps will be taken to duplicate as many of the damaged publications 
as are available for distribution. 


FOREIGN DEPOSITORIES OF UNITED STATES GOVERNMENTAL 
DOCUMENTS. 


In accordance with treaty stipulations, and under the authority 
of the resolutions of Congress of March 2, 1867, and March 2, 1901, 
setting apart a certain number of documents for exchange with for- 
eign countries, there are now sent regularly to depositories abroad 
56 full sets of United States official publications and 36 partial sets. 
During the year the Province of Bombay and the Corporation of 
Glasgow were added to the list of recipients of full sets; and Finland, 
British Guiana, the Free City of Liibeck, and the Province of Madras 
to the list receiving partial sets. While Finland and the Province 
of Madras were added to the list of countries receiving partial sets 
in November, 1912, the Library of Congress has, so far as it was 
possible to do so, completed the series from 1902 to that time. 

The recipients of full and partial sets are as follows: 


DEPOSITORIES OF FULL SETS. 


ARGENTINA: Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, Buenos Aires. 

AUSTRALIA: Library of the Commonwealth Parliament, Melbourne. 

AusTRIA: K. K. Statistische Zentral-Kommission, Vienna. 

Baven: Universitiits-Bibliothek, Freiburg. (Depository of the Grand Duchy 
of Baden.) 

Bavaria: Konigliche Hof- und Staats-Bibliothek, Munich. 

Bretcium: Bibliothéque Royale, Brussels. 

BomsBay: Secretary to the Government, Bombay. 

Brazii: Bibliotheca Nacional, Rio de Janeiro. 


70 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


Buenos Arres: Biblioteca de la Universidad Nacional de La Plata. (Deposi- 
tory of the Province of Buenos Aires.) 

CANADA: Library of Parliament, Ottawa. 

CuizE: Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional, Santiago. 

Curna: American-Chinese Publication Exchange Department, Shanghai Bureau 
of Foreign Affairs, Shanghai. 

CotomBIA: Biblioteca Nacional, Bogota. 

Costa Rica: Oficina de Depdésito y Canje Internacional de Publicaciones, San 
José. 

Cupa: Secretaria de Hstado (Asuntos Generales y Canje Internacional), 


Habana. 
DENMARK: Kongelige Bibliotheket, Copenhagen. 


ENGLAND: British Museum, London. 

FRANCE: Bibliothéque Nationale, Paris. 

GERMANY: Deutsche Reichstags-Bibliothek, Berlin. 

Guascow: City’ Librarian, Mitchell Library, Glasgow. 

GREECE: Bibliothéque Nationale, Athens. 

Hartt: Secrétairerie d’Htat des Relations Extérieures, Port au Prince. 

Huneary: Hungarian House of Delegates, Budapest. 

Inp1a: Department of Education (Books), Government of India, Calcutta. 

IRELAND: National Library of Ireland, Dublin. 

ITaty: Biblioteca Nazionale Vittorio Emanuele, Rome. 

JAPAN: Imperial Library of Japan, Tokyo. 

Lonpon: London School of Economics and Political Science. (Depository of 
the London County Council.) 

MANITOBA: Provincial Library, Winnipeg. 

Mexico: Instituto Bibliogréfico, Biblioteca Nacional, Mexico. 

NETHERLANDS: Library of the States General, The Hague. 

New SoutH WALES: Public Library of New South Wales, Sydney. 

NEw ZEALAND: General Assembly Library, Wellington. 

Norway: Storthingets Bibliothek, Christiania. 

Ontario: Legislative Library, Toronto. 

Paris: Préfecture de Ja Seine. 

Peru: Biblioteca Nacional, Lima. 

PortTuGAL: Bibliotheca Nacional, Lisbon. 

Prussia: K6nigliche Bibliothek, Berlin. 

QuEBEC: Library of the Legislature of the Province of Quebec, Quebec. 

QUEENSLAND: Parliamentary Library, Brisbane. 

Russia: Imperial Public Library, St. Petersburg. ‘ 

Saxony: K6nigliche Oeffentliche Bibliothek, Dresden. 

ServiA: Section Administrative du Ministére des Affaires Mtrangéres, Belgrade. 

SoutH AUSTRALIA: Parliamentary Library, Adelaide. 

Spain: Servicio del Cambio Internacional de Publicaciones, Cuerpo Facultativo 
de Archiveros, Bibliotecarios y Arquedlogos, Madrid. 

SWEDEN: Kungliga Biblioteket, Stockholm. 

SWITZERLAND: Bibliothéque Fédérale, Berne. 

TASMANIA: Parliamentary Library, Hobart. 

TuRKEY: Department of Public Instruction, Constantinople. 

Union oF SoutH ArFrica: State Library, Pretoria, Transvaal. 

Urvucuay: Oficina de Canje Internacional de Publicaciones, Montevideo. 

VENEZUELA: Biblioteca Nacional, Caracas. 

Victoria: Public Library, Melbourne. 

WESTERN AUSTRALIA: Public Library of Western Australia, Perth. 

WURTTEMBERG: K6nigliche Landesbibliothek, Stuttgart. 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 71 


DEPOSITORIES OF PARTIAL SETS. 


ALBERTA: Legislative Library, Edmonton. 

ALSACE-LORRAINE: K. Ministerium fiir Hlsass-Lothringen, Strassburg. 

BouiviA: Ministerio de Colonizacién y Agricultura, La Paz. 

BREMEN: Senatskommission fiir Reichs- und Auswiirtige Angelegenheiten. 

BRITISH CoLUMBIA: Legislative Library, Victoria. 

BrRiTIsH GUIANA: Government Secretary’s Office, Georgetown, Demerara. 

BuuteartA: Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sofia. 

CrYLoN: United States Consul, Colombo. 

Ecuapor: Biblioteca Nacional, Quito. 

Heyer: Bibliothéque Khédiviale, Cairo. 

FINLAND: Chancery of Governor, Helsingfors. 

GUATEMALA: Secretary of the Government, Guatemala. 

Hameoura: Senatskommission fiir die Reichs- und Auswiirtigen Angelegenheiten. 

Hesse: Grossherzogliche Hof-Bibliothek, Darmstadt. 

Honpuras: Secretary of the Government, Tegucigalpa. 

JAMAICA: Colonial Secretary, Kingston. 

LIBERIA: Department of State, Monrovia. 

LOURENGO MARQUEZ: Government Library, Lourenco Marquez. 

LUeeck: President of the Senate. 

MADRAS, PROVINCE OF: Chief Secretary to the Government of Madras, Public 
Department, Madras. 

Matra: Lieutenant Governor, Valetta. 

MonTeNEGRO: Ministére des Affaires Etrangéres, Cetinje. 

New Brunswick: Legislative Library, Fredericton. 

NEWFOUNDLAND: Colonial Secretary, St. John’s. 

NICARAGUA: Superintendente de Archivos Nacionales, Managua. 

NorRTHWEST TERRITORIES: Government Library, Regina. 

Nova Scotra: Provincial Secretary of Nova Scotia, Halifax. 

PANAMA: Secretaria de Relaciones Exteriores, Panama. 

PARAGUAY: Oficina General de Inmigracion, Asuncion. 

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND: Legislative Library, Charlottetown. 

RoumaAntiA: Academia Romana, Bucharest. 

SALVADOR: Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, San Salvador. 

Sram: Department of Foreign Affairs, Bangkok. 

STRAITS SETTLEMENTS: Colonial Secretary, Singapore. 

UNITED PROVINCES OF AGRA AND Ovupi: Under Secretary to Government, Alla- 
habad. 

VIENNA: Biirgermeister der Haupt- und Residenz-Stadt. 


INTERPARLIAMENTARY EXCHANGE OF OFFICIAL JOURNALS. 


The interparliamentary exchange of official journals is carried on 
under a resolution of the Congress approved March 4, 1909, setting 
aside such number as might be required, not exceeding 100 copies, 
of the daily issue of the Congressional Record for exchange, through 
the agency of the Smithsonian Institution, with the legislative cham- 
bers of such foreign Governments as might agree to send to the 
United States current copies of their parliamentary records or like 
publications. The purpose of this resolution was to enable the in- 
stitution, on the part of the United States, to more fully carry into 


72 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


effect the provisions of the convention concluded at Brussels in 1886, 
providing for the immediate exchange of the official journal. 

The Governments of the Province of Buenos Aires, Liberia, and 
Queensland have entered into this exchange during the year. A 
complete list of the Governments to which the Congressional Record 
is now sent is given below: 


Argentine Republic. Italy. 

Australia. Liberia. 

Austria. New South Wales. 
Baden. New Zealand. 
Belgium. Portugal. 

Brazil. Prussia. 

Buenos Aires, Province of. Queensland. 
Canada. Roumania. 

Cuba. Russia. 

Denmark. Servia. 

France. Spain, 

Great Britain, Switzerland. 
Greece. Transvaal. 
Guatemala. Union of South Africa. 
Honduras. Uruguay. 
Hungary. Western Australia. 


There are, therefore, at present 32 countries with which the imme- 
diate exchange is conducted. To some of these countries, however, 
two copies of the Congressional Record are sent, one to the upper 
and one to the lower House of Parliament—the total number trans- 
mitted being 37. 


RULES GOVERNING THE TRANSMISSION OF EXCHANGES. 


The circular containing the rules governing the transmission of 
exchanges has been revised, and is here reproduced for the informa- 
tion of those who may wish to make use of the facilities of the serv- 
ice in the forwarding of publications. 


In effecting the distribution of its first publications abroad, the Smithsonian 
Institution established relations with certain foreign scientific societies and libra- 
ries, by means of which it was enabled to materially assist institutions and indi- 
viduals of this country in the transmission of their publications abroad, and also 
foreign societies and individuals in distributing their publications in the United 
States. 

In recent years the Smithsonian Institution has been charged with the duty 
of conducting the official Exchange Bureau of the United States Government, 
through which the publications authorized by Congress are exchanged for those 
of other Governments; and by a formal treaty it acts as intermediary between 
the learned bodies and scientific and literary societies of the contracting States 
for the reception and transmission of their publications. 

Attention is called to the fact that this is an international and not a domestic 
exchange service, and that it is designed to facilitate exchanges between the 
United States and other countries only. As exchanges from domestic sources 
for addresses in Hawaii, the Philippine Islands, Porto Rico, and other territory 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 73 


subject to the jurisdiction of the United States do not come within the designa- 
tion ‘“‘international,” they are not accepted for transmission. 

Packages prepared in accordance wilh the rules enumerated below will be 
received by the Smithsonian Institution from persons or institutions of learning 
in the United States and forwarded to their destinations abroad through its 
own agents or through the various exchange bureaus in other countries. The 
Smithsonian agents and many of these bureaus will likewise receive from corre- 
spondents in their countries such publications for addresses in the United States 
and territory subject to its jurisdiction as may be delivered to them under rules 
similar to those prescribed herein, and will forward them to Washington, after 
which the Institution will undertake their distribution. 

On the receipt of a consignment from a domestic source it is assigned a 
“record number,” which number is placed on each package contained therein. 
After the packages have been recorded they are packed in boxes with packages 
from other senders intended for the same countries, and are forwarded by fast 
freight to the bureaus or agencies abroad which have undertaken to distribute 
exchanges in those countries. To Great Britain and Germany shipments are 
made weekly; to all other countries at intervals not exceeding one month. 

Consignments from abroad for correspondents in the United States and its 
outlying possessions are distributed by mail under frank. 

The Institution assumes no responsibility in the transmission of packages 
intrusted to its care, but at all times uses its best endeavors to forward exchanges 
to their destinations as promptly as possible. 


RULES. 


The rules governing the Smithsonian International Hxchange Service are as 
follows: 

1. Consignments from correspondents in the United States containing pack- 
ages for transmission abroad should be addressed ‘“ Smithsonian Institution, 
International Exchanges, Washington, D. C.” 

2. In forwarding a consignment the sender should mail a letter to the Insti- 
tution, stating by what route it is being shipped, and the number of boxes or 
parcels which it comprises. A list giving the name and address of each con- 
signee should also be furnished. 

3. Packages should be legibly addressed, using, when practicable, the lan- 
guage of the country to which they are to be forwarded. In order to avoid 
any possible dispute as to ownership, names of individuals should be omitted 
from packages intended for societies and other establishments. 

4. Packages should be securely wrapped in stout paper and, when necessary, 
tied with strong twine. Cardboard should be used in some instances to protect 
plates from crumpling. 

5. Letters are not permitted in exchange packages 

6. If donors desire acknowledgments, packages may contain receipt forms to 
be signed and returned by the establishment or individual addressed. Should 
publications be desired in exchange, a request to that effect may be printed on 
the receipt form or on the package. 

7. Exchanges intended for transmission abroad must be delivered to the 
Smithsonian Institution with all charges to Washington prepaid. 

8. The work carried on by the International Exchange Service is not in any 
sense of a commercial nature, but is restricted to the transmission of publica- 
tions sent as exchanges or donations. Books ordered through the trade are 
therefore necessarily excluded. 

9. Specimens are not accepted for distribution, except when permission has 
been obtained from the Institution, 


74 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


LIST OF BUREAUS OR AGENCIES THROUGH WHICH EXCHANGES ARH 
TRANSMITTED. 


The following is a list of the bureaus or agencies through which exchanges 

are transmitted: 

ALGERIA, via France. 

ANGOLA, vid Portugal. 

ARGENTINA: Comisién Protectora de Bibliotecas Populares, Reconquista 538, 
Buenos Aires. 

Austria: K. K. Statistische Zentral-Kommission, Vienna. 

Azorrs, via Portugal. 

Bretctum: Service Belge des Hchanges Internationaux, Rue du Musée 5, Brussels, 

BoniviA: Oficina Nacional de Estadistica, La Paz. 

Brazit: Servico de Permutagdes Internacionaes, Bibliotheca Nacional, Rio de 
Janeiro. 

BritisuH CoLonrrs: Crown Agents for the Colonies, London.* 

British GuIANA: Royal Agricultural and Commercial Society, Georgetown. 

British Honpuras: Colonial Secretary, Belize. 

BULGARIA: Institutions Scientifiques de 8. M. le Roi de Bulgarie, Sofia. 

CANARY ISLANDS, via Spain. 

CHILE: Servicio de Canjes Internacionales, Biblioteca Nacional, Santiago. 

CHINA: Zi-ka-wei Observatory, Shanghai. 

CotomBiA: Oficina de Canjes Internacionales y Reparto, Biblioteca Nacional, 
Bogota. 

Costa Rica: Oficina de Depdsito y Canje Internacional de Publicaciones, San 
José, 

DENMARK: Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes, Selskab, Copenhagen. 

DutcH GUIANA: Surinaamsche Koloniale Bibliotheek, Paramaribo. 

Ecuapor: Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, Quito. 

Heyer: Government Publications Office, Printing Department, Cairo. 

France: Service Francais des Hchanges Internationaux, 110 Rue de Grenelle, 
Paris. 

GERMANY: Amerika-Institut, Berlin, N. W. 7. 

GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND: Messrs. William Wesley & Son, 28 Essex Street, 
Strand, London. 

GREECE: Bibliothéque Nationale, Athens. 

GREENLAND, vid Denmark. 

GUADELOUPE, via France. 

GUATEMALA: Instituto Nacional de Varones, Guatemala. 

GUINEA, Via Portugal. 

Hartt: Secrétaire d’Etat des Relations Extérieures, Port au Prince. 

Honpuras: Biblioteca Nacional, Tegucigalpa. 

Huneary: Dr. Julius Pikler, Municipal Office of Statistics, Vici-utea 80, Buda- 
pest. ; 

ICELAND, via Denmark. 

InpIA: India Store Department, India Office, London. 

Iraty: Ufficio degli Scambi Internazionali, Biblioteca Nazionale Vittorio Eman- 
uele, Rome. 

JAMAICA: Institute of Jamaica, Kingston. 

JAPAN: Imperial Library of Japan, Tokyo. 

JAVA, via Netherlands. 

KkorrA: His Imperial Japanese Majesty’s Residency-General, Seoul. 


1 This method is employed for communicating with several of the British colonies with 
which no medium is available for forwarding exchanges direct. 


—— 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. fits 


LIBERIA: Bureau of Exchanges, Department of State, Monrovia. 

LouURENGO MARQUEZ: Government Library, Lourenco Marquez. 

LUXEMBURG, via Germany. 

MADAGASCAR, Vid France. 

MADEIRA, vid Portugal. 

MONTENEGRO: Ministére des Affaires Etrangéres, Cetinje. 

MOZAMBIQUE, vid Portugal. 

NETHERLANDS: Bureau Scientifique Central Néerlandais, Bibliothéque de 1’Uni- 
versité, Leyden. 

NEw GUINEA, via Netherlands. 

NEw SoutH WALES: Public Library of New South Wales, Sydney. 

NEW ZEALAND: Dominion Museum, Wellington. 

NIcARAGUA: Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, Managua. 

Norway: Kongelige Norske Frederiks Universitet Bibliotheket, Christiania. 

PANAMA: Secretaria de Relaciones Exteriores, Panama. 

PARAGUAY: Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, Asuncion. 

Persia: Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church, New York City. 

Prru: Oficina de Reparto, Deposito y Canje Internacional de Publicaciones, 
Ministerio de Fomento, Lima. 

PoRTUGAL: Servigo de Permutagdes Internacionaes, Bibliotheca Nacional, Lis- 
bon. 

QUEENSLAND: Bureau of Exchanges of International Publications, Chief Seec- 
retary’s Office, Brisbane. 

RoOuMANIA: Academia Romana, Bucharest. 

Russta: Commission Russe des Echanges Internationaux, Bibliothéque Im- 
périale Publique, St. Petersburg. 

SALyADoR: Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, San Salvador. 

Srervia: Section Administrative du Ministére des Affaires Etrangéres, Belgrade. 

Sram: Department of Foreign Affairs, Bangkok. 

SoutH AUSTRALIA: Public Library of South Australia, Adelaide. 

Spain: Servicio del Cambio Internacional de Publicaciones, Cuerpo Facultativo 
de Archiveros, Bibliotecarios y Arquedlogos, Madrid. 

SUMATRA, vid Netherlands. 

SWEDEN: Kongliga Svenska Vetenskaps Akademien, Stockholm. 

SwirzerRLaAnp: Service des Echanges Internationaux, Bibliothéque Wédérale 
Centrale, Berne. 

Syrta: Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church, New York. 

TASMANIA: Secretary to the Premier, Hobart. 

TRINIDAD: Royal Victoria Institute of Trinidad and Tobago, Port-of-Spain. 

TUNIS, via France. 

TURKEY: American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, Boston. 

Union or SoutH Arrica: Government Printing Works, Pretoria, Transvaal. 

Urvevuay: Oficina de Canje Internacional, Montevideo. 

VENEZUELA: Biblioteca Nacional, Caracas. 

Vicror1a: Public Library of Victoria, Melbourne. 

WESTERN AUSTRALIA: Public Library of Western Australia, Perth. 

WINDWARD AND LEEWARD ISLANDS: Imperial Department of Agriculture, Bridge- 
town, Barbados. 


Respectfully submitted. 
F, W. True, 
Assistant Secretary in Charge 
of Library and EKachanges. 
Dr. Cuartes D. Watcort, 
Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. 


SEPTEMBER 27, 1913. 


APPENDIX 4, 
REPORT ON THE NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK. 


Str: I have the honor to submit herewith a report of the opera- 
tians of the National Zoological Park for the fiscal year ending 
June 30, 1913. 

The general appropriation made by Congress for the improve- 
ment and maintenance during that year was $100,000. The cost of 
food for the animals was $20,235, which is somewhat less than 
during the previous year, being due to the decline in prices of forage 
from the extremely high rates which then prevailed. The expendi- 
tures for upkeep were greater than usual, especially as to out-door 
cages, inclosures, and fences. 


ACCESSIONS. 


During the previous year, owing to the necessity of providing a 
fireproof building for the central heating plant and making certain 
urgently needed small improvements, only a small sum was used for 
the purchase of animals. During the present year several important 
animals have been added, including a pair of young African ele- 
phants, three dromedaries, a pair of cheetahs, several species of 
gazelles, and other animals, purchased from the Government Zoologi- 
cal Garden at Giza, Egypt. These were engaged some time before 
the end of the fiscal year, but, as explained: below, they did not finally 
reach the park until a little after the end of the period covered by 
this report. 

Seven ostriches from southern California were purchased, and 
two moose, a male and a female, were obtained by exchange from 
the Rocky Mountains National Park in Alberta, Canada. The ac- 
cessions, with the animals from Giza, included 15 species not previ- 
ously represented in the collection. 

The total amount expended for purchase and transportation of 
animals was $6,900. 

Mammals and birds born and hatched in the park numbered 78 
and included polar, grizzly, and Alaskan brown bears, alpaca, llama, 
American tapir, chamois, harnessed antelope, deer of several species, 
with some other mammals and various birds. 

76 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. ane 


EXCHANGES. 


The number of exchanges was smaller than usual. As already 
mentioned, two moose were received from the Rocky Mountains 
National Park and several animals from dealers. 


ANIMALS FROM GIZA. 


In the latter part of March, 1913, an offer of some desirable ani- 
mals was received from the Government Zoological Garden at Giza, 
Egypt. This offer included two young African elephants, a male 
and a female, and a number of other less important animals. The 
two elephants were engaged for the park, together with three drome- 
daries and two Arabian baboons. As the Egyptian authorities 
required the animals to be accepted at their gardens, it was thought 
advisable to send the head keeper of the park to receive them and 
accompany them during transportation. He left Washington May 
15, 1912, and arrived at Giza on June 19. On his arrival he found 
that several other desirable animals were available there and was 
authorized by cable to secure them for the park, so that there were 
altogether 21 animals in the shipment. It was necessary to go to 
London to arrange for transportation, and on the way from there 
to Egypt the zoological gardens at Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Ant- 
werp; Cologne, and Rome were visited. 


ANIMALS IN THE COLLECTION JUNE 30, 19138. 


MAMMALS. 

Grivet monkey (Cercopithecus sabeus) — 1 , Polar bear (Thalarctos maritimus) —___ 2 
Green monkey (Cercopithecus  calli- European brown bear (Ursus arctos)__ 2 

TOOT ces ee ee 1 | Kadiak bear (Ursus middendorfii) _____ 1 
Mona monkey (Cercopithecus mona) —~ 2 | Yakutat bear (Ursus dalli)__________ 1 
Diana monkey (Cercopithecus diana) __ 1 | Alaskan brown bear (Ursus gyas)——-~ 3 
Sooty mangabey (Cercocebus fuligino- Hybrid bear (Ursus gyas-arctos)_____ 1 

RO 222252206 es ee ee 2 | Kidder’s bear (Ursus kidderi) _______ 2 
Bonnet monkey (Macacus sinicus) ~---~ 1 | Himalayan bear (Ursus thibetanus) __ 1 
Macaque monkey (Macacus cynomol- Grizzly bear (Ursus horribilis)_______ 3 

G05) Joh. a 3 | Black bear (Ursus americanus) —~-_____ 9 
Pig-tailed monkey (Macacus nemestri- Cinnamon bear (Ursus americanus)___ 2 

PERS) oe PU ES EA a 4 | Malay bear (Ursus malayanus) ~~ _____ 2 
Rhesus monkey (Macacus rhesuws)__-__ 16 | Sloth bear (Melursus wrsinus)_ ~~ _____ 1 
Brown macaque (Macacus arctoides) _—_ 8 | Kinkajou (Cercoleptes caudivolwulus) — al 
Japanese monkey (Macacus fuscatus) _- 8 | Cacomistle (Bassariscus astuwta)______ i 
Moor monkey (Macacus maurus) ~~~ 1 | Gray coatimundi (Nasua narica)_____ 5 
Black ape (Cynopithecus niger) —-~--__ tt} Raccoon) (Procyon loro) 2 19 
Chacma \(Papio porcarius) ——.--_-___— 1 | American badger (Tawvidea tagvus)____ 2 
Hamadryas baboon (Papio hamadryas) — al | Common skunk (Mephitis putida) _____ 4 
Mandrill (Papio maimon)_-_--_______ 3 | American marten (Mustela americana) — 2 
Gray spider monkey (Ateles geoffroyi)_ 1 | Fisher (Mustela pennantii) _-________ 1 
White-throated capuchin (Cebus hypo- Mink (Putorius vison) 22222 =e eee 5 

CSREES) a pet Common ferret (Putorius putorius) ___ 1 
Brown monkey (Cebus fatuellus)— ~~ Black-footed ferret (Putorius nigripes)_ 2 


Durukuli (Nyctipithecus trivirgatus) —- North American otter (Lutra cana- 
Ruffed lemur (Lemur varius) _---_-- 


Ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta)---_-- 


WNNrRF 


78 


ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1918, 


Animals in the collection June 80, 1913—Continued. 
MAMMALS—Continued. 


Dino) (Canis: dingy) ---=—- 2 ee 
Gray wolf (Canis occidentalis) ______-~ 
Black wolf (Canis occidentalis) ___~~~ 
Coyote (Canis latrans)__-___-------- 
Woodhouse’s coyote (Canis frustror) —— 
Red fox (Vulpes pennsylwanicus) —~---- 
Switt fox (Vulpes velow) —-—~__--___-- 
Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) —-—~-.----- 
Gray fox (Urocyon cinereo-argenteus) — 
Spotted hyena (Hyena crocuta)—~---~- 
African palm civet (Viverra civetta) —- 
Common genet (Genetta genctta) ___-- 
pudam lionk (Melis veo!) 222 ae 
Kilimanjaro lion (I’elis leo sabakiensis) 
SOM MCHICLAS KUL NTS)) soe Ee ae 
Cougar (Felis oregonensis hippolestes) — 
waecuar ies, oncd) 2 — 
Leopard (Felis pardus) —__-__.____-_-- 
Black leopard (Felis pardus) —~-~-----~~ 
MeLveMHelss (SEFUCL) ae Seo Pa Le 
Ocelot (Hetis pardalis) ----220 = 
Canada lynx (Lyn# canadensis) —~-~-~~-~ 
Piva. (UND Lne Us) 22 eco ee 
Spotted lynx (Lynx rufus texrensis) ~~ 
Florida lynx (Lyn@ rufus floridanus) —- 
Steller’s sea lion (Humetopias stelleri)— 
California sea lion (Zalophus califor- 

LUNI OR Lee ae a ee a gl a ee 
Northern fur seal (Callotaria alascana) — 
Harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) —-~----~~- 
Fox squirrel (Sciurus niger) ~-_----~-- 
Western fox squirrel (Sciurus ludovi- 

CLETUS) ee a ee 
Gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) ~~~ 
Black squirrel (Sciwrus carolinensis) ~~ 
Albino squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) — 
pation esa uUinnels ceo oli ese 
Prairie dog (Cyomys ludovicianus) ~~~ 
Woodchuck (Arctomys mona) —~--_~~ 
Albino woodchuck (Arctomys monaz)_— 
Black woodchuck (Arctomys mona) _~ 
Alpine marmot (Arctomys marmotta) — 
American beaver (Castor canadensis ) ~~ 
Coypu (Myocastor coypus) —--_-------- 
Hutia-conga (Capromys pilorides) ——-~ 
Indian porcupine (Hystrix leucura) —~ 
Canada porcupine (Hrethizon dorsa- 

ALS eee eee rat. I 
Canada porcupine (Hrethizon dorsatus) 

CEN Oy WS (6 LL Seka SS a a ape 
Western porcupine (Hrethizon epixan- 

FAP TE emp — ee a 


Azara’s agouti (Dasyprocta azar@) —-_ 
Crested agouti (Dasyprocta cristata) _ 
Hairy-rumped agouti (Dasyprocta prym- 

AUGOUG DIE) oe a a 
Paca (Oelogenys paca) 2-4 32k 
Guinea pig (Cavia cutleri) _-__-_-_-____-_ 
Patagonian cavy (Dolichotis pata- 

GONE) eee a he ea eee ee 
Capybara (Hydrocherus capybara) ---- 
Domestic rabbit (Lepus cuniculus) ~~~ 
Cape hyrax (Procavia capensis) —~---~-~ 


BEN OR HEHEHE NW HEPWHEHRNNRFPHEONN ROWE ED 


Oo be bo 


nS 
om 


20 


NNNrFNHNF Rw OrY 


= 


3 
1 
37 
1 


Indian elephant (Hlephas mazinus)-— 
Brazilian tapir (Tapirus americanus) _— 
Grevy’s zebra (Hquus grevyi) ------- 
Zebra-donkey hybrid (Equus grevyi- 

88) Lense SoU Lees See eee 
Grant’s zebra (Hquus burchelli granti) 
Collared peccary (Dicotyles angulatus)-_ 
Wild boar ‘(Sus scrofa) 22-2 eee 
Northern wart hog (Phacocherus afri- 


Hippopotamus 

phibius 2 a ee ee ee 
Guanaco (Lama huanachus)——~---_-~ 
Llama | (Lame glane) 22 
Alpaca (ama 'pac0s) 22222. 
Vicugna (Lama viciugnd) 2-2 
Bactrian camel (Camelus bactrianus)_— 
Muntjac (Cervulus muntjac) ——-==—-== 
Sambar deer (Cervus aristotelis) _____ 
Philippine deer (Cervus philippinus) —— 
Hog deer (Cervus porcinus) —_—~-_-__ 
Barasingha deer (Cervus duvaucelit) — 
Axis deer) (Cervus anis)\=2 ee 
Japanese deer (Cervus sika) -___-____ 
Red deer (Cervus elaphus) -—---___-_— 
American elk (Cervus canadensis) ~~~ 
Fallow deer (Cervus dama)——_________ 
Moose (Alces americanus) —______-____ 
Virginia deer (Odocoileus virginianus) — 
Mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) ——__-~ 
Columbian black-tailed deer (Odocoi- 

leus. columbianus) —_ 22 eee 
Cuban deer (Odocoileus sp.)--------- 
Coke’s hartebeest (Bubalis cokei) ---_~ 
Blessbok (Damaliscus albifrons)—~--_~ 
White-tailed gnu (Connochetes gnu) _— 
Defassa water buck (Cobus defassa) —_ 
Indian antelope (Antilope cervicapra) — 
Nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus)——_—_~ 
Congo harnessed antelope (T'rage- 

laphis orctus) eee 
Chamois (Rupicapra tragus)--~---~--~ 
Tahr (Hemitragus jemlaicus) —------~ 
Common goat (Capra hireus) —_----___ 
Angora goat (Capra hireus)——_____=_ 
Barbary sheep (Ovis tragelaphus)—--~ 
Barbados sheep (Ovis  aries-trage- 

laphus) ~~. S224 See 
Anoa (Anoa depressicornis)—-------_ 
East African buffalo (Buffelus~ neu- 


(Hippopotamus  am- 


Yak (Poéphagus griunniens) ---------~- 
American bison (Bison americanus) —— 
Hairy armadillo (Dasypus villosus)—~ 
Wallaroo (Macropus robustus) ------~ 
Red kangaroo (Macropus rufus) —----~~ 
Bennett’s wallaby (Macropus ruficollis 

bennetti) 2.224252 ee eS eee 
Virginia opossum (Didelphys marsupi- 


Virginia opossum (Didelphys marsupi- 
alis) (sibinoz2202 ee ee ee 
Common wombat (Phascolomys mitch- 
CUT) ee a eee 


et Ot 


Done 


bo 


= 
BEN RADARDDWOROHPNHFNWNWOWH 


= 


-_ 
DWH Hee ee 


= 
Ol OL OD Ww bs 


4 
me OD 


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Go Oo oo OT OI 


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to 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 


Animals in the collection June 30, 1918—Continued. 


European blackbird (Merula merula)_ 
Mocking bird (Mimus polyglottos)_—_~ 
Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis) —~~-~~ 
Brown thrasher (Tozrostoma rufus) ——~ 
Japanese robin (Liothriv luteus) _----~ 
White-cheeked bulbul (Pycnonotus 

VEU CGUCMMIS ee ee Ae 
Black bulbul (Pycnonotus pyge@us) ———~ 
Laughing thrush (Garrulaz _ leuco- 


Cordon-bleu (Hstrelda phenicotis) —~--- 
Magpie finch (Spermestes fringilloides) — 
Cut-throat finch (Amadina fasciata) —_ 
Zebra finch (Amadina castanotis) ~---_- 
Black-headed fineh (Munia atricapilla) — 
Three-colored finch (Munia malacca) —- 
White-headed finch (Munia maja) —--~ 
Nutmeg finch (Munia punctularia) ~~ 
Java sparrow (Munia oryzivora)——__-- 
White Java sparrow (Munia oryzi- 

EEL) as I Ee 
Sharp-tailed grass finch (Poéphila acu- 

PA NCEUIL GLE) reson ee mie 
Silver-bill finch (Aidemosyne cantans)~— 
Chestnut-breasted finch (Donacola cas- 

LAP /KAORT HOG HEE) SORES Se 
Bearded finch (Spermophila sp.) —~-----~ 
Napoleon weaver (Pyromeclana afr) —~ 
Madagascar weaver (foudia madagas- 

COMLCAURER) ere eek 
Red-billed weaver (Quelea quelea)___~ 
Whydah weaver (Vidua paradisea) ~~~ 
Painted bunting (Passerina ciris)—~___ 


Red-crested cardinal (Paroaria  cu- 
GARTERS SS ee nee 
Rose-breasted grosbeak (Zamelodia lud- 
SEE OAT) UR ETE PSE a gn 
Common cardinal (Cardinalis cardi- 
ECULES)) ee 


SIskin | (Spmus, spinws),——__ 
Saffron finch (Sycalis flaveola)_-_____ 
European goldfinch (Carduelis elegans) — 
Yellow-hammer (Hmberiza citrinella)_ 
Common canary (Serinus canarius)—__ 
Linnet (Linota cannabina) ___---__-- 
Bullfinch (Pyrrhula europea) -__-_____ 
Cowbird (Molothrus ater) _--________ 
Glossy starling (Lamprotornis cauda- 

LS) ese ere eC 


CAT) ai ned ag ee 
European raven (Corvus corar)_____~ 
American raven (Corvus corar sinu- 

CUAL S)\ eer eae ee Ee ee 
Common crow (Corvus brachyrhyn- 

CEP YS) bhp ESS pe Ope ap 
Green jay (Xanthoura luruosa)—_____ 
White-throated jay (Garrulus leucotis) — 
Blue jay (Cyanocitta cristata) _____ 
American magpie (Pica pica hudson- 

PETE) RRs Sis ES A ESL ES ENN 
Red-billed magpie (Urocissa occipitalis) — 
Piping crow (Gymnorhina tibicen) -___ 


BIRDS. 
1 | Yellow tyrant (Pitangus derbianus) _—— 
1 | Giant kingfisher (Dacelo gigas) --___ 
1 | Yellow-breasted toucan (Rhamphastos 
i CORINGTUS) 222% 2 Be 
10 | Sulphur-crested cockatoo (Cacatua ga- 
‘ LONE) pe ASCE 
1 | White cockatoo (Cacatua alba)_---__ 
1 | Leadbeater’s cockatoo (Cacatua lead- 
Dea@tert) ooo ees oe 
2 | Bare-eyed cockatoo (Cacatua gymnopis) 
4 | Roseate cockatoo (Cacatua  roseica- 
Pilla), See ak oe ae ee 
7 | Gang-gang cockatoo (Callocephalon ga- 
8 Leatauny) 2 Ee is 
2 | Yellow and blue macaw (Ara ara- 
10 TOUUIVE GY ao eo ah BS SEN 
4 | Red and yellow and blue macaw (Ara 
7 PUGDGCOO)) Se vo ep 
6 | Red and blue macaw (Ara chlorop- 
9 GOr@) 6 222 oko i 
6 | Great green macaw (Ara militaris)___ 
13 | Mexican conure (Conurus holochlorus)_ 
Carolina paroquet (Conuropsis caroli- 
12 NENStS)! Bein PE oN 
Cuban parrot (Amazona leucocephala) — 
2 | Orange-winged amazon (Amazona ama- 
12 20ntCO) Base e es ie 
Porto Rican amazon (Amazona_ vit- 
6 td) ete ek. eee 
2 | Yellow-shouldered amazon (Amazona 
4 Ochropterd) 20) ah 
Yellow-fronted amazon (Amazona ochro- 
a cephala). 222222 eee 
8 | Red-fronted amazon (Amazona rhodo- 
28 COrYth A) accel ee 
1 | Yellow-headed amazon (Amazona_ le- 
vaillantt).—-—.L  . 2  ee 
8 | Blue-fronted amazon (Amazona_ @s- 
TVG) Be eae Se 
1 | Lesser vasa parrot (Coracopsis nigra) _— 
Banded parrakeet (Palwornis fasciata) — 
1 | Alexandrine parrakeet (Pale@ornis alex- 
5 UII) | Na 
19 | Rosella parrakeet (Platycercus exim- 
2 MUGS) rte Bie aT IN UA kis RT 
1 | Love bird (Agapornis pullaria) -_---_-___ 
26 | Green parrakeet (Loriculus sp.)----__ 
4 | Shell parrakeet (Melopsittacus uwndu- 
1 LOE) NE ne 2) Ta 
1 | Great horned owl (Bubo virginianus) — 
Arctic horned owl (Bubo virginianus 
1 subarcticus), 22 oe See ee Ee ees 
Screech owl (Otus asio) 222223 e3e 
2) |) Barréd owl (Stria varia) 2222 ee 
1 | Barn owl (Aluco pratincola) --_--_-_-__~ 
Sparrow hawk (Falco sparverius) ——-~ 
2 | Bald eagle (Haliwetus leucocephalus) _ 
Alaskan bald eagle (Haliwetus leuco- 
1 cephalus) alascanus) 2225 - eeeeee 
1 | Golden eagle (Aquila chrysaétos) —--__ 
2 | Harpy eagle (Thrasaétus harpyia)—-_~ 
3 | Chilian eagle (Geranoaétus melanoleu- 
CUS) a oe 2 ee a 
2 | Crowned hawk eagle (Spizaétus coro- 
2 TUS) oa ae at ae a 
2 |! Red-shouldered hawk (Buteo lineatus)_ 


79 


mo th bo bo 


Ne Oo Re 


1 


BH HH 


aren 


80 


ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


Animals in the collection June 80, 1918—Continued. 


BIRDS—Continued. 


Wenezueglan hawk 2 Se) te. suey a oe 
Caracara (Polyborus cheriway) ------ 
Lammergeyer (Gypaétus barbatus) —-- 
South American condor (Sarcorham- 

TALS) (OT UD AUS) el ee eee 
California condor (Gymnogyps califor- 

MINUS) eee eee ee ee Ee ee 
Griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus) -------- 
Cinereous vulture (Vultur monachus) — 
Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnop- 

terus ) 
Turkey vulture (Cathartes aura) -—---- 
Black vulture (Catharista wrubi)—---- 
King vulture (Gypagus papa) —------- 
Red-billed pigeon (Columba filaviros- 

TESS) emai A Re RR 
Mourning dove (Zenaidura macroura) — 
Peaceful dove (Geopelia tranquilia) —_ 
Collared turtle dove (Turtur risorius) — 
Cape masked dove (Gna capensis) ~--~ 
Victoria crowned pigeon (Gouwra vic- 

PAO P AA) emi ts ke A 
Purplish guan (Penelope purpurascens) — 
Crested curassow (Cra# alector) —--~~ 
Mexican curassow (Craz globicera) —-- 
Daubenton’s curassow (Craxz dauben- 

EOTED ae eee es eas OS SS 
Wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo sil- 

DOSEAIS)), re eee 
Peafow!] (Pawo cristata) __-__---_-_-=--_ 
Jungle fowl (Gallus bankiva)-------- 
English pheasant (Phasianus colchi- 

GTR) pal ep ep ae 
Reeves’s pheasant (Phasianus reevest) — 
Golden pheasant (Thaumalea picta) —-~ 
Silver pheasant (Huplocamus nycthe- 


European quail (Coturnia communis) _— 
Hungarian partridge (Perdiz perdiz) —- 
Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus)_—~--__~ 
Mountain quail (Oreortyx picta) ~~~ 
Sealed quail (Callipepla squamata)___ 
California quail (Lophortyz califor- 

nica) 
Gambel’s quail (Lophortyx gambeli) —- 
Massena quail (Cyrtonyx montezume@) _— 
Purple gallinule (Porphyrio c@rulea)_ 
Black-backed gallinule (Porphyrio me- 

VOROCUS) wee ee ee eee eee eee 
Martinique gallinule (Jonornis martini- 

PAVE) espe ce ei 
Florida gallinule (Gallinula galeata) _- 
American coot (Fulica americana) _—_-~ 
Flightless rail (Ocydromus australis) — 
Common cariama (Cariama cristata)— 
Demoiselle crane (Anthropoides virgo) -— 
Crowned crane (Balearica pavonina) —— 
Sandhill crane (Grus mexicana) —-_--~ 
Australian crane (Grus australasiana) —~ 
Huropean crane (Grus cinerea) ~-----_- 
Sarus crane (Grus antigone)--------~ 
Indian white crane (Grus_ leucoge- 

I ONUIUB)) es ee oe a ee eee 
Ruff (Machetes pugnar) ~~~ 


1 


WDNWHHEe HH NHERHE OAWNOR NNR NNO 


rer. moc 


bo 


na 


tb 


RPNRPNNAee 


Black-crowned night heron (Nycticoragr 

nycticoram nevius) —--------L 225s 
Little blue heron (Florida ce@rulea) _-~ 
Reddish egret (Dichromanassa rufes- 

Cens), 212 Bee ee See 
Snowy egret (Hgretta candidissima) —— 
Great white heron (Herodias egretta)- 
Great blue heron (Ardea herodias)—-_ 
Great black-crowned heron (Ardea 


Black stork (Ciconia nigra) —--------- 
Marabou stork (Leptoptilus dubius)_—~ 
Wood ibis (Mycteria americana) —---~ 
Sacred ibis (Ibis ethiopica) _--------- 
White ibis (Guara alta) -—---_-___-_— 
Roseate spoonbill (Ajaja ajaja)—----- 
European flamingo (Phenicoplerus an- 

tiquorum) \~2_2 Sees sees 
Crested screamer (Chauna cristata) —~ 
Whistling swan (Olor columbianus) —-~ 
Mute swan (Cygnus gibbus) ~--__-_--_ 
Black swan (Chenopis atrata)--_-__-_- 
Muscovy duck (Cairina moschata) —-__ 
White muscovy duck (Cairina mos- 


chata) 2222S ee 
Wandering tree-duck (Dendrocygna ar- 
CuatG) L222 eS 
Fulvous tree-duck (Dendrocygna bi- 


color) 2. SSeS ee 
Brant (Branta bernicla glaucogastra) — 
Canada goose (Branta canadensis) __-_ 
Hutchins’s goose (Branta canadensis 

hutchinsit) 2222 ee eee 
Lesser snow goose (Chen hyperboreus)_ 
Greater snow goose (Chen hyperboreus 

vvais) ...-.-.  eeee eee 
American white-fronted goose (Anser 

aloifrons gamben) === ee 
Chinese goose (Anser cygnoides)-____-_ 
Secaup duck (Marila marila)______-__- 
Canvasback (Marila valisneria) _____- 
Red-headed duck (Marila americana) —_ 
Wood duck (At#@ sponsa)_____-=-- === 
Mandarin duck (Dendronessa galericu- 

lata) 
Pintall (Dafila acute) 22 
Shoveler duck (Spatula clypeata) ----- 
Black duck (Anas rubripes) ---____-___- 
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) —-__---__ 


American white pelican (Pelecanus 
erythrorhynchos) 2-2-2 ee 
European white pelican (Pelecanus 


onocrotalus)..=--=——==— eee 
Roseate pelican (Pelecanus roseus) ~--~ 
Brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis )_ 
Florida cormorant (Phalacrocorar au- 

ritis floridanus).——~——=— = 22 eee 
Mexican cormorant 

vigua menicanus) 22-22 _ SSeS Eee 
Water turkey (Anhinga anhinga)-_---~- 
Roseate tern (Sterna dougalli) _---__-- 
Royal tern (Sterna maxima) _-------- 
Black-backed gull (Larus marinus) —---~ 


- 


02 eb ye Ht 


bo 


BeRROoONDW HEARNE Ne 


to 


bo AQepD A 


- 


OMbd & O11 Oo 


Com me He OT 


= 
o 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 


Animals in the collection June 30, 19185—Continued. 


BIRDS—Continued. 


Herring gull (Larus argentatus) —--__- 
American herring gull (Larus argen- 
tatus smithsonianus ) ~--_---------- 
Laughing gull (Larus atricilla) _-__--~ 
South African ostrich (Struthio aus- 
ERIELIS eee ne rere te a a 


Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) —_ 
Sharp-nosed crocodile (Crocodilus 
MRNCRECULIDIUR  Peecetee n e E 
Painted turtle (Chrysemys picta)—__-~-~ 
Diamond-back terrapin (Malacoclemys 
LU PESTAL IN) Se hE 
Three-toed box-tortoise (Cistudo tri- 
VENDOS) Soh een 
Painted box-tortoise (Cistudo ornata)_— 
Gopher turtle (Xerobates polyphemus) — 
Duncan Island tortoise (T'estudo ephip- 
LEU TIT pV oe oS ERE Ss SEE emg ee eee 


(BENOIT 
Horned lizard (Phrynosoma cornutum) - 
Gila monster (Heloderma suspectum) — 
Glass snake (Ophisaurus ventralis)__-_ 
Regal python (Python reticulatus) _--_ 
Anaconda (Hunectes murinus) —~----_-- 
Velvet snake (Hpicrates cenchris) —~___ 
Cuban tree-boa (£picrates angulifer) —- 


4 | Somali ostrich (Struthio molybdo- 
UIUC ES io ES AEE ee 
5 | Common cassowary (Casuarius galea- 
2 EUS) kB ee ZENE RAS ER oe ee Re 
Common rhea (Rhea americana) ——~~__~ 
7 | Emu (Dromeus nove hollandie)——~-___ 
REPTILES. 
17 | Spreading adder (Heterodon platy- 
TRANMUS) 222 ee Se 2 ee 
1 | Black snake (Zamenis constrictor) ____ 
4 | Coach-whip snake (Zamenis flagellum) — 
Corn snake (Coluber guttatus)—~---___ 
4 | Common chicken snake (Coluber quad- 
Mvittatus) Loe. 3 ee eee 
g | Gopher snake (Compsosoma _ corais 
5 couperit) 2 es eee ee 
1 Pine snake (Pityophis melanoleucus) 
Bull snake (Pityophis sayi)_~~--._-_-__- 
>» | King snake (Ophibolus getulus) -___-_- 
“| Common garter snake (Hutenia sirta- 
WB) ohio eA a RTE See 
1 Texas water snake (Hutenia proxvima) _ 
3 | Water moccasin (Ancistrodon. piscivo- 
5) TUS Wane eS eee Ee eee 
1 | Copperhead (Ancistrodon contortria) __ 
1 | Diamond rattlesnake (Crotalus adaman- 
2 TOUS) ei oe eh eS ee 
1 | Banded rattlesnake (Crotalus horri- 
i AUS) ee 2 Ce PURI Cee eee 
GIFTS. 


Mr. Raymond Adams, Washington, D. C., an alligator. 

Dr. J. S. Billupp, Leeland, Md., an American magpie. 

Mr. M. HB. Boyd, Washington, D. C., a horned lizard. 

Mr. August Busck, Washington, D. C., two marmosettes. 

Mr. W. M. Chrissinger, Hagerstown, Md., a black snake. 

Mrs. Eugenia S. Cleary, Washington, D. C., a common canary. 
Mr. Wallace Eyans, Oak Park, Ill., four mink. 

Capt. W. EH. P. French, Washington, D. C., an alligator. 

Mr. F. P. Hall, Washington, D. C., three alligators. 

Mr. Kidwell, Washington, D. C., a bald eagle. 

Mr. M. 8S. Lawrence, Washington, D. C., a common opossum. 
Mr. De Witt T. Leach, Washington, D. C., a woodchuck. 

Mr. Ralph W. Lee, Washington, D. C., an alligator. 

Miss Clare and Mr. James McCall, Mapleton, Pa., a banded rattlesnake. 
Mr. D. McLanahan, Washington, D. C., a barred owl. 


Mr. E. B. McLean, Washington, D. C., a skunk, two raccoons, and a toucan. 


Mr. J. W. Mills, Washington, D. C., an alligator. 

Mr. Victor Mindeleff, Washington, D. C., a crocodile. 

Mr. Thomas Moreland, Washington, D. C., a barn owl. 

Hon. L. P. Padgett, Columbia, Tenn., a gray coatimundi. 

Capt. A. W. Perry, Washington, D. C., a western mocking bird. 
Capt. R. B. Putnam, Washington, D. C., a gray coatimundi. 
Mr. fF. J. Raymond, Washington, D. C., a green parrot. 

Dr. C. W. Richmond, Washington, D. C., two barn owls. 


44863°—sm 1913——6 


81 


keh es CD 


a 


82 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


Mrs. Ricketson, Washington, D. C., a common raccoon. 

Mr. Richard A. Sargent, Washington, D. C., a common canary. 

Mrs. Gurnon P. Scott, Washington, D. C., a shell parrakeet. 

Mr. BE. 'T. Seton, Cos Cob, Conn., three common skunks. 

Mr. Ellis Spear, Washington, D. C., two common canaries. 

Miss Straub, Washington, D. C., a green parrot. 

Mr. H. EH. Thomas, Washington, D. C., a black snake. 

Mrs. HE. St. Clair Thompson, Washington, D. C., a common canary. 

Mrs. GC. V. Williams, Washington, D. C., an alligator. 

Hon. Woodrow Wilson, Washington, D. C., a horned lizard. 

The Zoological Society of Philadelphia, six muskrats. 

Unknown donors, a screech owl, five barn owls, an English pheasant, and an 
alligator. 


LOSSES OF ANIMALS. 


The most serious loss was among the ruminants. An eland, a 
bontebok, a Coke’s hartebeest, and a harnessed antelope died from 
tuberculosis; a moose and a reindeer from enteritis; two tahr goats 
from pneumonia; and an American bison, 21 years old, from arterio- 
sclerosis. A fur seal also died from enteritis and a grizzly bear 
that when captured, 19 years before, weighed 730 pounds was killed 
because of its general decrepitude. A number of birds were lost 
through the depredations of raccoons and other animals living at 
large in the park. The night herons had increased to such an extent 
in the flying cage that they interfered with the nesting of other 
birds there, and the greater part of them (114) were disposed of, 
a few as gifts to other zoological collections. 

Of animals that died in the park, 107 were transferred to the 
National Museum. Autopsies were made as heretofore by the Patho- 
logical Division of the Bureau of Animal Industry, Department of 
Agriculture.? 


STATEMENT OF THE COLLECTION. 


ACCESSIONS DURING THE YEAR. 


Bresenteders sll eet el tl ee 66 
AESIGGM SGC ees ee a ee eee 162 
Bornvand hatched in: National Zoological Park -_-_._ -—. ee 78 
Receive in exchanges 20.20 oS i eee 18 
Meposited in National Zoological Park... 4. eee 6 
Capiredvin: National Zoological Park=22*_~. 20 Se 1 

MRO GAN ee ee. 2 EE SE 2s pol 


1The causes of death were reported to be as follows: Enteritis, 37; gastritis, 1; 
impaction of bowel, 3; pneumonia, 14; tuberculosis, 10; congestion of lungs, 4; asper- 
gillosis, 4; malignant catarrh of nose and throat, 1; inflammation of pharynx and 
larynx, 1; congestion of liver, 1; septicemia, 3; sarcoma, 1; abscess, 1; gangrene of 
thyroid gland, 1; generalized fat necrosis, 1; arteriosclerosis, 1; umbilical infection, 1; 
starvation (snakes), 8; killed because of arthritis, 1, and of senile debility, 1; accidents 
(killed by animals, etc.), 32; no cause found (only viscera examined in most cases), 12. 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 83 


SUMMARY. 

ENTATTTMEM ES y Latah aos fr Ba Ag USM SL ce Re Ne Le ed Se A ietsta | 

PPO CESSTOM SM CRU LTS He Nyaa LAURE a dd ATION ate a el SET ahs 3381 

BEC tical Mpeierer eee tee ee a Et ON ad ee lot Le eee ad 1, 882 

Deduct loss (by exchange, death, return of animals, ete.) _~__________ 414 

RO Hee TTeV ETC TIRC SOL Dike yee eae a I ee ee 1, 468 

Class. Species. inated 

Se ee a eee ate sce cacys oiSb oss mien soc gnee sees sess che ctese sick 154 606 

Ene PEE ey Ben Sho fh oe eee ocaddiececbeuecpaes saves cecboes 202 786 

eal PEE EE Pre ER SNe Seo wa bak oe wiclsatia cise da Sd sleidltties oilseed tenes 31 76 

A ee Ilan ote Saloon) sw c\n wroininiain'2 = no cin = a\e\niaiao a nla <ieis'a.ciw'=io es sim=cine oss / 387 1, 468 
VISITORS. 


The number of visitors to the park during the year, as deter- 
mined by count and estimate, was 633,526, a daily average of 1,731. 
This was nearly 100,000 more than during the fiscal year 1912. The 
largest number in any one month was 120,908, in March, 1913, an 
average per day of 3,900. 

Dyring the year 142 classes, schools, etc., with a total of 5,579 
pupils, visited the park, a monthly average of 465. These were 
mainly from the District of Columbia and neighboring States, but 
other States, from Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts, 
to Tennessee and South Carolina, were represented, and “Corn 
Growers” belonging to 18 States. 

IMPROVEMENTS. 

The construction of a house for the storage and preparation of 
food, which was begun toward the close of the previous year, was 
completed early in this year and equipped with a large range for 
cooking and baking, a small cold-storage room, dumb-waiter, etc. 
The total cost of building and equipment was $3,615, of which 
$3,050 was paid from this year’s appropriation. The building is of 
stone, 24 feet wide and 40 feet long,and has one story and a basement, 
both with concrete floors. It is abundantly lighted and thoroughly 
sanitary. It is located at the rear of the temporary bird house, so 
that the building and theyard about itare screened from public view, 
while still convenient of access. This improvement had been much 
needed, as the only place previously available for the preparation of 
food was the cellar of the lion house, where both light and ventila- 
tion were far from satisfactory. 

An inclosure and shelter house were built between the lion ‘house 
and the small-mammal house to afford temporary quarters for the 
small flock of ostriches recently aequired. The house is 16 feet 


84 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


wide and 24 feet long, and the adjoining inclosure, which is nearly 
circular, is about 100 feet in diameter. 

A new inclosure, with a pool, for wood ducks and nearly related 
species, was built in the valley near the flying cage. 

The suspension footbridge across Rock Creek near the northern 
entrance to the park having become unsafe, a new bridge of similar 
construction was built there. 

A bridle path was laid out near the bank of the creek throughout 
its entire length in the park, and a rustic walk, mainly parallel to the 
roadway, was built from the concrete bridge to the north entrance. 

Early in the year the first section of a retaining wall was built 
in the ravine opposite the point at which Ontario Road reaches the 
park, and later a second section was built above this, giving the wall 
a total height of 18 feet. 

A small retaining wall was built, also, at the mouth of the little 
run at the northern edge of the park near Klingle Road to prevent 
further erosion there and protect valuable forest trees which are 
being undermined. 

A small amount of riprapping was done at three places on the 
banks of the creek. 

Just before the close of the year work was begun on the old ele- 
phant barn to fit it and the adjoining yard, then occupied by tairs, 
for the temporary accommodation of the two young African ele- 
phants which had been secured from the zoological garden at Giza. 
A new yard, with a pool, for the tapirs was built next to the new 
elephant house, the work on this being well under way at the close 
of the year. 

The cost of these improvements was as follows: 


Hoodehouse (from. 1915 appropriation) 220. 20220 ee ee $3, 050 
imclosuresand shelter for ostriches: 20 tL 3h en a eee 450 
imelosure,and: pool) for wood. ducks_si2.") ee eee 200 
New, suspension footbridge as ssc ila be 400 
BmGlenmath and) rustic walks t 00 oaks ei ee hie 
Resainine wallat Ontario Road.i2 20 0 1 eee 425 
Retaining wall near Klingle Road_____________ wo. 175 
prapwine Danks /oficreeko 6) SLU We eel es oe er 275 
Alterations of old elephant barn and inclosure________________________ 850 

FDoy iG po ly Ne a AO Nee OL eRe EON YS 6, 600 


Through the generosity of Mr. John B, Henderson, jr., there was 
completed in the autumn of 1912 an outdoor cage for parrots which 
had heretofore been confined in the bird house. The cage is 24 by 
40 feet, and about 26 feet high, has a steel framework and is covered 
with strong wire netting of special construction. Several species 
of cockatoos and macaws, and one species of Amazon parrot, in all 28 
specimens, were placed in the cage, and, with few exceptions, have 
been thrifty and appear to enjoy their outdoor freedom. 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 85 


MAINTENANCE OF BUILDINGS, INCLOSURES, ETC. 


It was necessary to make quite extensive repairs during the year, 
so that the expenditures for upkeep were somewhat larger than usual. 
New concrete floors were laid in two of the largest bear yards, and 
the pools rebuilt. The concrete base of the partitions between the 
several yards was also built up sufficiently to bring the metal work of 
the partitions above the damp floor. 

A section of the boundary fence of the park was largely rebuilt 
and other portions repaired, and much of the metal work of cages 
and inclosures was repainted, including the flying cage and eagle 
cage, bear yards, antelope yards, and the outside cages of the small- 
mammal house. 


NEW BRIDGE ACROSS ROCK CREEK. 


The sundry civil act for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1913, con- 
tained the following item: “ For the construction of a rough-stone 
faced or bowlder bridge across Rock Creek to replace the present log 
bridge on the line of the roadway from Adams Mill Road entrance 
and Cathedral Avenue, $20,000.” The act also includes the follow- 
ing provisions: “ Hereafter all plans and specifications for the con- 
struction of buildings in the National Zoological Park shall be pre- 
pared under the supervision of the municipal architect of the District 
of Columbia, and all plans and specifications for bridges in said 
park shall be prepared under the supervision of the engineer of 
bridges of the District of Columbia.” 

In accordance with this requirement the matter of preparing plans 
and specifications for the bridge was taken up with the engineer of 
bridges very soon after the sundry civil act was approved (August 24, 
1912). A considerable amount of preliminary work had already been 
done when the engineer of bridges died. The matter was taken up 
again with his successor and plans and specifications were prepared 
and advertisements made for proposals April 28, 1913. A contract 
for the construction of the bridge was entered into May 29, 1913. 
The old bridge was removed as soon as possible, and work on the 
new bridge was begun about the middle of June. The bridge is to be 
of reinforced concrete, faced with rough blocks of the blue gneiss found 
in this region. Stone for the concrete is to be obtained in the park. 
The span of the bridge is to be 80 feet and the total length at the 
road level 114 feet. The bridge will be 39 feet 6 inches wide from 
outside to outside, with a width of 36 feet 6 inches between the para- 
pets. There will be a macadam roadway with concrete sidewalk 
on either side, but the construction of roadway and sidewalks will be 
deferred until the earth fill has thoroughly settled. The work on the 
main portion of the bridge covered by the contract will amount to 
about $10,800, while the cost of material furnished by the park, prep- 


86 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


aration of plans, superintendence, and other expenses will probably 
bring the total cost up to $15,300. The appropriation, therefore, 
will be sufficient to add wing walls if desirable, and to complete the 
approaches. It is expected that all work under the contract will be 
finished and the temporary roadway built in time to open the bridge 
for use by October 30. It has been necessary to close the road to 
vehicles during the construction of the bridge. 

Most of the members of the old log bridge, which was erected in 
1896, were found to be in surprisingly good condition, but it was 
so much decayed at some vital points as to be dangerous for use. 


ALTERATION OF THE WEST BOUNDARY OF THE PARK. 


Tn the last annual report, as in several previous reports, attention 
was called to the urgent need of acquiring additional land along the 
western side of the park and the great desirability of extending the 
park to Connecticut Avenue. The matter was presented to Congress 
and an appropriation has been made for the purchase of the pri- 
vately owned land lying between the western boundary of the park 
and Connecticut Avenue from Cathedral Avenue to Klingle Road, 
the land in the included highways also to become a part of the park. 
The land to be purchased amounts to about ten and two-thirds acres 
and that in the highways to about two and two-thirds acres. 

Respectfully submitted. 


FrANK Baker, Superintendent. 
Dr. Cuartes D. Waxcort, p 


Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 
Washington, D. CG. 


APPENDIX 5. 


REPORT ON THE ASTROPHYSICAL OBSERVATORY. 


Sir: I have the honor to present the following report on the opera- 
tions of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory for the year 
ending June 30, 1913: 


EQUIPMENT. 


The equipment of the observatory is as follows: 

(a) At Washington there is an inclosure of about 16,000 square 
feet, containing five small frame buildings used for observing and 
computing purposes, three movable frame shelters covering several 
out-of-door pieces of apparatus, and also one small brick building 
containing a storage battery and electrical distribution apparatus. 

(6) At Mount Wilson, Cal., upon a leased plot of ground 100 
feet square, in horizontal projection, are located a one-story cement 
observing structure, designed especially for solar-constant measure- 
ments, and also a little frame cottage, 21 feet by 25 feet, for observer’s 
quarters. 

During the year there was erected upon the observing shelter at 
Mount Wilson a tower 40 feet high above the 12-foot piers which 
had been prepared in the original construction of the building. This 
tower is now being equipped as a tower telescope for use when ob- 
serving (with the spectrobolometer) the distribution of radiation 
over the sun’s disk. The cost of the tower and its apparatus has thus 
far been about $1,400. 

Other pieces of apparatus for research have been purchased or 
constructed at the observatory shop. The value of these additions 
to the instrumental equipment, not counting the tower above men- 
tioned and its equipment, is estimated at $1,500. 


WORK OF THE YAR. 


1. ON THE SOLAR CONSTANT OF RADIATION. 


When Volume IT of the Annals of the Astrophysical Observatory 
was published in 1908 the standard scale of measurement of solar 
radiation had not yet been established. Several supposedly standard 
pyrheliometers for the purpose of fixing the true scale of radiation 
measurement were constructed and tried at this observatory, as men- 

87 


88 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


tioned in former reports. The results obtained agreed closely to- 
gether and were checked by observations with known quantities of 
heat. In October, 1912, another type of standard pyrheliometer, 
which we called the water-stir pyrheliometer, was devised, con- 
structed, and used. It proves to give values for the standard scale of 
radiation almost identical with those which we had before obtained, 
and in this instrument, as in the others, known test quantities of heat 
were introduced and measured within less than 1 per cent. In view 
of all these experiments with standard pyrheliometers, it is now felt 
that the standard scale of radiation is at length fully established. 
Accordingly, a publication entitled “ Smithsonian Pyrheliometry Re- 
vised ” was issued February 1, 1913, giving the results of all the 
definitive experiments on the standard scale of radiation and also 
the experiments made to fix the scales of all the secondary pyrheli- 
ometers in use at the Astrophysical Observatory or furnished by 
the Smithsonian Institution to observers in this country and abroad. 

A small correction in the determinations of the solar constant of 
radiation made at Mount Wilson and elsewhere was found to be 
required owing to a residual effect of water vapor in the atmosphere 
which had not been entirely eliminated. This correction sometimes 
reaches as great a magnitude as 2 per cent. It has now been applied 
to all the measurements made at the various stations which have been 
occupied since 1902, and all the solar-constant measurements, about 
700 in number, have been reduced to the new standard scale of pyrhe- 
hometry. 

The mean value of the solar constant of radiation at the earth’s 
mean distance from the sun from about 700 measurements, some at 
Washington, others at Mount Wilson, others at Bassour, Algeria, and 
still others at Mount Whitney, Cal., and covering the years from 1902 
to 1912, has now been taken. J¢ és 1.932 calories per square centi- 
meter per minute. 


2. THE VARIABILITY OF THE SUN. 
(a) Attending sun spots. 


Tn connection with the reduction of the measurements of the solar 
constant of radiation mentioned above, mean values were taken for 
each month during which observations had been made at Mount 
Wilson. These monthly mean values, extending from the year 
1905 to the year 1912, have been compared with the so-called Wolff 
sun-spot numbers for the same months. The result shows, as indi- 
cated in the accompanying illustration, that increased solar-constant 
values attend increased sun-spot numbers. An increase of radiation 
at the earth’s mean distance from the sun of 0.07 calorie per square 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 89 


centimeter per minute appears to attend an increased spottedness of 
the sun represented by 100 Wolff sun-spot numbers. 


(0) Short interval irregular variability. 


The observations which had been begun in the year 1911 and con- 
tinued in the year 1912 at Bassour, Algeria, simultaneously with 
similar observations at Mount Wilson, Cal., were concluded in 
September, 1912. The observations obtained at the two stations have 


Bee eee 


c] 


BERETTA 


6 


Gs ea 


ie 
Aaa 
ie 
fi 
a 
ZR 
is 


EIN es ais 


MOUNT WILSON VALUES. CALORIES. 
&- 180. 2 


6 


diessocents 
fe 

CECE REDE 

ba SaHSET EP EEETS 

Fras eneree nets 

LE ae ee rs ae 


1.90 4 


Seat Pots Caton ES. 


now been completely reduced and compared. The results given in 
the accompanying diagram show conclusively that if high values of 
the solar radiation (outside the atmosphere) are found from Cali- 
fornia observations, the values found from Algerian observations 
will be high also, and vice versa. In other words, the fluctuation of 
the “ solar-constant” values which had been found in California in 
former years are now shown to be no local phenomenon due, per- 
haps, to atmospheric disturbances, but rather a phenomenon which 
is general over the earth’s surface and which must be attributed to 
causes outside the earth altogether. It would be conceivable that 
such a cause might be the interposition of meteoric dust or other 
matter between the earth and the sun; but other evidence, which is 
more fully explained in Volume III of the Annals of the Astro- 


90 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


physical Observatory, shows that we must attribute the changes to 
the sun itself and not to the interposition of matter between the 
earth and the sun. Thus we may conclude that the sun is variable, 
having not only a periodicity connected with the periodicity of sun 
spots, but also an irregular, nonperiodic variation, sometimes run- 
ning its course in a week or 10 days, at other times in longer periods, 
and ranging over irregular fluctuations of from 2 to 10 per cent of 
the total radiation in magnitude. 


MONTHLY SUN-SPOT NUMBERS. WOLFER. 


° 
69 so. .o! 22 93 [947,55 96 7 1.98 
MONTHLY SOLAR-CONSTANT VALUES, CALORIES. 


3. THE EFFECTS OF VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS. 


Violent eruption of Mount Katmai, Alaska, occurred on June 6, 
7, and 8, 1912. The solar observations made at Bassour, Algeria, 
and at Mount Wilson, Cal., began to indicate the presence of dust 
in the upper air from this volcano about June 20, 1912. The effects 
of this dust became more and more considerable, so that in August 
the direct radiation of the sun was reduced by the interposition of 
the dust cloud by about 20 per cent, both at Bassour and Mount 
Wilson. <A study of the influence of Mount Katmai and other 
volcanic eruptions was published by Messrs. Abbot and Fowle in 
the Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, volume 60, No. 29, 1913. 
It was shown that not only the volcano of Mount Katmai, but also 
other great eruptions of former years, have materially decreased the 
direct radiation of the sun, and apparently altered the temperature 
of the earth. Various observers have shown that the presence of 
sun spots is attended with a decreased terrestrial temperature. In 
the paper just mentioned it is shown that quite as important an 


: 
q 


| 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 91 


influence is attributable to the presence of volcanic haze; and that 
a combination of the effects of sun spots and volcanic haze accounts 
for all the principal outstanding irregularities in the temperature 
of the earth for the last 30 years. 


4. VOLUME III OF THE ANNALS OF THE ASTROPHYSICAL OBSERVATORY. 


The principal work of the year was the reduction of observations 
and the preparation for publication of Volume III of the Annals of 
the Astrophysical Observatory. (Quarto; pp. XI-+-241; tables, 70; 
inserted plates, 7; text figures, 32.) The manuscript was forwarded 
to the Public Printer on April 1, and the first completed copy of the 
book was received on July 3, 1913. About 1,400 copies have been 
distributed to libraries and individuals throughout the world. 

In brief, the experiments described therein, which include the 
work of the observatory from 1907 to 19138, appear— 

(a) To have established the scale of measurement of radiation to 
within 1 per cent. 

(6) To have established the solar constant of radiation to within 
1 per cent. 

(c) To have shown by two independent methods that the sun’s 
emission is not uniform but varies with an irregular periodicity of 
from 7% to 10 days on the average and with irregular amounts seldom 
if ever exceeding 10 per cent. 

(d) To have shown that the sun also varies in connection with the 
sun-spot cycle. The solar emission appears to be increased at the 
earth’s mean distance from the sun by about 0.07 of a calorie per 
square centimeter per minute for an increase of 100 Wolff sun-spot 
numbers. 

(e) A marked effect of volcanic dust in the upper atmosphere on 
the radiation of the sun and on the temperature of the earth is 
indicated. 

(f) Studies of the radiation of the sky, the effects of water vapor 
on the solar radiation, the distribution of radiation over the sun’s 
disk, the probable temperature of the sun, and other subjects are 
included. 


5. STUDIES OF THE TRANSMISSION OF LONG WAVE RAYS BY WATER VAPOR 
IN THE EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE. 


Mr. Fowle’s experiments on the transmission of radiation through 
long columns of air containing measured quantities of water vapor 
were temporarily discontinued owing to the need of completing the 
publication of Volume III of the Annals. He, however, published 
a paper on the quantity of water vapor found above the Mount Wil- 
son station.? 


1 Astrophysical Journal, vol. 57, p. 359, 1913. 


92 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


Toward the end of the fiscal year a vacuum bolometer was pre- 
pared for use in continuing the experiments on the transmission of 
very long wave rays through atmospheric water vapor. It is pro- 
posed to push this work in the immediate future. 


6. THE CALIFORNIA EXPEDITION, 


A grant of money from the Hodgkins fund having been made by 
the Institution to Mr. A. K. Angstrém for observations of nocturnal 
radiation at different altitudes, several other lines of investigation 
were arranged to be included in connection with these researches. 
In the first place measurements were proposed on the total radiation 
from the sky by day. For this purpose and with the aid of a small 
grant from the Hodgkins fund Mr. Abbot devised and tested a 
special sky-radiation apparatus. This instrument comprises two 
blackened strips of metal, which are exposed successively at the 
centers of two metal plates in such a way that the whole hemisphere 
of the sky is free to shine on the exposed blackened strip, but nothing 
can come from below the horizon toward the strips. Each strip is 
at the center of a hemispherical glass inclosure, which serves the 
purpose of preventing the exchange of rays of long-wave lengths 
(associated with the temperature of such objects) between the black- 
ened strip and the sky. Thus the apparatus serves to measure the 
quantity of radiation, originally coming from the sun, which has 
become diffusely scattered toward the horizontal surface by the 
molecules and dust particles found in the atmosphere. 

Secondly, in order to determine the temperature and humidity 
prevailing above the stations occupied by Mr. Angstrém’s expedi- 
tions, the Institution procured a large number of sounding balloons, 
and arrangements were made with the Weather Bureau for flying 
these balloons from Santa Catalina Island, carrying with each ascen- 
sion self-recording apparatus of the Weather Bureau for measuring 
the temperature, pressure, and humidity of the air. Captive balloons 
belonging to the Weather Bureau were also arranged to be sent up 
at Lone Pine, Cal., and at Mount Whitney, Cal., while Mr. Angstrém 
was occupying these two stations. 

As certain writers have expressed doubt whether measurements of 
the solar constant of radiation made by Langley’s method of high 
and low observations with the spectrobolometer really furnish the 
solar radiation values as they would be found outside our atmosphere, 
it seemed desirable to check these results by observing at the highest 
possible altitudes the actual intensity of the solar radiation. 
For this purpose Mr. Abbott designed a form of pyrheliometer, 
similar in principle to the’ silver-disk pyrheliometer, but which 
is automatic and self-recording, and can be attached to a sound- 
ing balloon, and thus carried to very great heights. Five copies 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 93 


of this instrument were prepared at the observatory shops by Mr. 
Kramer and Mr. Abbot, and these were sent with the expedition to 
California. In anticipation it may be said that the five instruments 
were sent up on successive days, beginning July 30, 1913, and at the 
time of writing this report two of them have been recovered. Each of 
the two had a readable record of the ascension. <A preliminary re- 
_ duction of the results shows that, beginning at an altitude of about 
6,000 meters and separated by altitude intervals of 2,000 or 3,000 
meters for successive exposure, four determinations of the solar 
radiation were obtained in each of the ascents. The rough computa- 
tion mentioned results as follows: First ascent: 1.44, 1.60, 1.70, and 
1.88 calories per square centimeter per minute. Second ascent: 1.62, 
1.64, 1.76, and 1.89 calories per square centimeter per minute. 

These results are subject to later recomputation, but they indicate 
at least that our solar-constant work of 1902-1912 by high and low 
sun observations on homogeneous rays, according to Langley’s 
methods, gives results of the same order of magnitude as those 
obtained by direct pyrheliometric observations at extremely high 
altitudes. 

PERSONNEL. 

No change has occurred in the staff of the observatory, except that 
Miss F. E. Frisby completed her temporary service as computer on 
June 30, 1913, and Mr. A. K. Angstrém served as temporary bolo- 
metric assistant in Algeria from July 1, 1912, to September 30, 1912. 


SUMMARY. 


The work of the observatory has been uncommonly successful. 
Volume III of its Annals has been published, including the work of 
the years 1907 to 1912. The observations at Bassour, Algeria, taken 
in connection with those made simultaneously at Mount Wilson, Cal., 
have established the variability of the sun. <A variability connected 
with the sun-spot cycle has also been shown. The mean value of the 
solar constant of radiation has been fixed, it is thought, within 1 per 
cent. From about 700 observations, extending over the time interval 
from 1902 to 1912 and taken at different altitudes from sea level to 
4,420 meters, the mean value is 1.932 calories per square centimeter per 
minute. Pyrheliometers have been sent up by means of sounding 
balloons to very great altitudes, and preliminary results indicate that 
they give values of the solar radiation similar to those found by high 
and low sun observations on homogeneous rays. 


Respectfully submitted. 
C. G. Appor, 


Director Astrophysical Observatory, 
Smithsonian Institution. 
Dr. Cuartes D. Watcortt, 
Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. 


APPENDIX 6. 
REPORT ON THE LIBRARY. 


Str: I have the honor to submit the following report on work 
performed for the Smithsonian Library during the fiscal year ending 


June 30, 1918: 
ACCESSIONS. 


The accessions to the library are obtained mainly by exchange of 
Smithsonian publications, or by gift. During the fiscal year 1913, 
33,161 packages of publications were received as exchanges and gifts, 
of which 29,065 packages were transmitted by mail and 4,096 through 
the International Exchange Service. In addition to letters written 
in acknowledgement of publications received in response to the re- 
quests of the Institution for exchange, some 5,000 publications were 
acknowledged on the regular printed forms. 

The following number of accessions for the Smithsonian deposit 
in the Library of Congress were recorded during the year: 3,379 
volumes, 1,407 parts of volumes, 5,990 pamphlets, and 450 charts; 
total, 11,226 publications. The numbers in the accession catalogue 
ran from 508,789 to 513,026, the parts of serial publications entered 
on the card catalogue numbered 21,081, and 1,256 slips were prepared 
for completed volumes. The various publications sent to the Library 
of Congress as soon as received and entered filled 257 boxes and com- 
prised 30,350 separate pieces, including parts of periodicals, pam- 
phlets and complete. volumes. Besides these, about 1,704 parts of 
serials needed to complete sets were obtained by exchange and sent to 
the Library of Congress separately. 

As in previous years, public documents presented to the Institution 
were sent to the Library of Congress without being stamped or 
recorded. Publications of this class to the number of 9,866 were 
transmitted in this manner during the year. 

The Smithsonian Office Library and the small collections of books 
maintained by the Astrophysical Observatory and the National Zoo- 
logical Park received accessions amounting altogether to 473, di- 
vided as follows: Smithsonian Office, 314 volumes, 37 parts of vol- 
umes, and 19 pamphlets; Astrophysical Observatory, 90 volumes, 21 
parts of volumes, and 69 pamphlets; National Zoological Park, 13 
volumes and 10 pamphlets. 


1Only a portion of these are included in the foregoing statistics of accessions, as 
periodicals are not entered jm the accession record until volumes are complete. 


94 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 95 
EXCHANGES. 


Through correspondence, 140 new periodicals were added during 
the year to the great collection of scientific journals contained in the 
Smithsonian deposit, together with 1,704 parts needed to complete 
volumes in the various series. 

The matter of the completion of sets in the Smithsonian deposit 
received special attention. Revised want lists for Belgium, Den- 
mark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and 
Switzerland were taken up, and, so far as possible, the needed parts 
were supplied. These lists were additional to the regular want cards 
received separately from the Library of Congress. As a result of 
the work carried on in this direction during the year, 192 parts of 60 
different publications were sent to the Library of Congress to com- 
plete sets of periodicals in the Smithsonian deposit and 1,475 missing 
parts needed to complete volumes of 173 different series of publica- 
tions of learned societies and scientific institutions. For other divi- 
sions of the Library of Congress 37 parts of 16 sets were supplied. 

In exchange for annual reports of the American Historical Asso- 
ciation a number of publications of European historical societies 
were obtained for the library, as in previous years. 


READING ROOM. 


The rearrangement of the reading room in the Smithsonian build- 
ing mentioned in last year’s report was completed. Two new oak 
tables have been provided, a large one for readers and a smaller one 
with bins for periodicals. All the doors have been removed from 
the cases of pigeonholes for periodicals which stand against the 
walls and proper space made for desks and aisles. By these changes 
the appearance of the room has been much improved and the period. 
icals made more readily accessible. The latest issues of about 262 
domestic and foreign scientific periodicals are now constantly at 
hand and are consulted by the staff of the Institution and _ its 
branches, the scientific officers of various governmental establish- 
ments in Washington, and students generally. The series of large 
accession books formerly kept in the reading room have been re- 
moved to the adjoining office and placed in a special case. A partial 
rearrangement of the contents of the room farther to the east was 
effected during the year for the purpose of making the encyclopedias, 
dictionaries, gazetteers, and other books of general reference more 
readily accessible. This room contains the transactions of the vari- 
ous academies of the world and other similar series which are con- 
stantly needed for reference by the scientific staff of the Institution. 


96 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


AHRONAUTICAL LIBRARY. 


The Institution possesses an excellent collection of literature relat- 
ing to the subject of aeronautics, which is kept in the room last men- 
tioned. This very valuable series of publications is rich in period- 
icals, especially those of early date. During the year all the books 
were reclassified and the volumes of periodicals were collated and 
made ready for binding. 


ART ROOM AND EMPLOYEES’ LIBRARY. 


No additions to the works on art contained in this room were made 
during the year and the arrangement remained unchanged. All 
works relating to other subjects than art have been eliminated, and 
those properly belonging in the room are in good condition and 
readily accessible. 

No changes were made in the small collection of general literature 
known as the employees’ library for the reasons mentioned in last 
year’s report. 

NEW STEEL BOOKSTACKS. 


The estimates for the fiscal year 1914 contained an item of $40,000 
for the erection of metal bookstacks in the main hall of the Smith- 
sonian building, to contain the library of the Bureau of American 
Ethnology, a part of the National Museum library, together with 
books belonging to other branches of the Institution, and certain 
collections of Smithsonian books used by the scientific and adminis- 
trative staff. Toward the close of the fiscal year covered by this 
report Congress appropriated the sum of $15,000 for beginning this 
work, and arrangements were immediately made to secure a design 
for the bookstacks. In accordance with the plan proposed, a floor 
space at each end of the hall measuring 50 feet by 26 feet will be 
devoted to the stacks, which will be arranged in three tiers and reach 
from the floor to the ceiling. In order to increase the shelf capacity 
and at the same time preserve the appearance of the hall, a series of 
bookeases about 8 feet high will be carried along the north and south 
walls, connecting with the stacks at each end. The object of this 
arrangement is to concentrate the various collections of books as far 
as practicable and at the same time to preserve the symmetry of the 
hall, and to leave the central portion open for exhibits and for va- 
rious Smithsonian gatherings. A portion of the space will probably 
be needed for the preservation and display of the personal relics of ~ 
James Smithson and for objects illustrating the work of the several 
branches of the Institution. 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 97 
CATALOGUE OF SMITHSONIAN PUBLICATIONS. 


A contract was entered into during the year for the preparation 
of a complete catalogue of the publications of the Institution and its 
branches in book form. It is expected that the manuscript will be 
finished within a few months and that means will be found to print 
and issue the catalogue without serious delay. 


LIBRARIES OF THE GOVERNMENT BRANCHES. 


United States National Museum.—In accordance with the plans ap- 
proved last year, four rooms at the northeast corner of the new 
building of the National Museum on the ground floor (Nos. 24, 26, 
27, and 28) were fitted with steel bookstacks and other library appli- 
ances of the latest design for the reception of the portion of the 
Museum library needed in connection with the study and classifica- 
tion of the natural history and other collections in that building. 
The three rooms on the north side of the corridor not being separated 
by partitions, the entire space of 107 feet by 21 feet was divided into 
three portions of unequal dimensions, the western portion being as- 
signed for a general reading room, and also for the card catalogues, 
reference books, charging desk, etc. The middle portion, of smaller 
dimensions, for quiet reading; and the larger eastern portion for the 
general stacks. The stacks are in two tiers separated by a glass floor. 
In the middle room the arrangement is similar, except that a large 
table occupies the central floor space. A gallery which extends 
around three sides of the general reading room also supports stacks, 
and on the ground floor additional shelving occupies the east wall of 
this room. Open shelves for current numbers of periodicals occupy 
the space under the windows. Two steel manuscript cases have been 


_ placed in the middle room, and a small lift for raising books to the 


upper or mezzanine floor, and suitable staircases have also been pro- 
vided. <A special feature of the stack room is that every second stack 


is but 34 feet high instead of 7 feet. This arrangement reduces the 


total shelf capacity a little, but provides a place on which to lay 
books when they are being rearranged or used by readers. As the 
members of the staff and other students are permitted to consult books 
in the stack room, the provision is a necessary one. 

The room on the south side of the corridor (No. 27) was arranged 
as an office for the assistant librarian and the cataloguers. Bookstacks 


“extend around the walls of the room on three sides, and there are 


two additional stacks, dividing the room practically into three. 

The steel stacks were completed about October 15, 1912, and the 
moving of books from the old quarters was begun immediately. The 
task of placing the books on the new shelves occupied about a month, 

44862°—sm 19183——7 


98 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


during which time they were, nevertheless, available for use by 
readers and the delivery of books to the sectional libraries was not 
interrupted. For moving, the books were tied together in lots of con- 
venient size for handling, and each lot received a number. It was 
then a simple matter to put the books in their proper places on the 
shelves in the new library. After they were in place, the library 
was fortunately able to employ temporary assistants to go over them 
all for the purpose of checking up the various series and ascertaining 
whether the volumes were all present and in their proper sequence. 

The arrangement of the cards belonging to the Zurich catalogue of 
scientific literature has been perfected, and they are now available for 
reference. 

In accordance with the plans decided upon, as mentioned in last 
year’s report, the books on museum administration, technology, his- 
tory, botany, and some other subjects were allowed to remain in the 
old quarters, where they would be most readily accessible to the mem- 
bers of the staff and others working in those lines. It is the inten- 
tion, however, to transfer the botanical books to the new stacks in the 
Smithsonian Building as soon as the latter shall have been com- 
pleted. 

This portion of the library was rearranged and recatalogued as 
rapidly as possible, and with the aid of additional help the publica- 
tions had been classified on the shelves at the close of the year and 
about one-half of them recatalogued. The following work in this 
direction was accomplished during the year: Books catalogued, 
1,370; pamphlets, 2,416; total number of cards made, 3,132. Com- 
pleted volumes of periodicals catalogued, 2,938; parts of publications, 
19,059; total number of cards made, 1,117. 

During the year 881 volumes were prepared for binding and sent 
to the Government bindery for that purpose. 

Many important gifts were received by the library during the year, 
and the following members of the staff presented publications: Sec- 
retary Charles D. Walcott, Dr. Theodore N. Gill, Dr. William H. 
Dall, Mr. Robert Ridgway, Dr. C. W. Richmond, Dr. J. C. Crawford, 
Dr. O. P. Hay, and Mr. W. R. Maxon. 

The Museum library now contains 43,692 volumes, 72,042 unbound 
papers, and 122 manuscripts. The accessions during the year covered 
by this report consisted of 1,690 books, 2,213 pamphlets, and 159 
parts of volumes. The number catalogued, exclusive of those men- 
tioned above, was as follows: 782 books, 892 complete volumes of 
periodicals, and 2,229 pamphlets. 

The number of books, periodicals, and pamphlets borrowed from 
the general library amounted to 25,846, among which were 3,888 
obtained from the Library of Congress, 117 from the Department of 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 99 


Agriculture, 71 from the Army Medical Museum and library, 59 
from the United States Geological Survey, and 19 from other libra- 
ries. Publications to the number of 4,832 were assigned to the sec- 
tional libraries of the Museum during the year. 

The following is a complete list of the sectional libraries now 
existing: 


Administration. Marine invertebrates. 
Administrative assistant’s office. Materia medica. 
Anthropology. — Mechanical technology. 
Biology. Mollusks. 

Birds. Oriental archeology. 
Botany. Paleobotany. 
Comparative anatomy. Parasites. 

Fditor’s office. Photography. 
Ethnology. Physical anthropology. 
Fishes. Prehistoric archeology. 
Geology. Reptiles and batrachians. 
Graphie arts. Superintendent’s office. 
Insects. Taxidermy. 
Invertebrate paleontology. Textiles. 

Mammals. Vertebrate paleontology. 


The records of the Museum library consist of an author’s catalogue, 
an accession book, a periodical record on standard cards, and a lend- 
ing record. This lending record is on cards and includes books 
borrowed from the Library of Congress and other libraries for the 
use of the staff. 

The library is largely dependent upon the exchange of Museum 
publications as a means of increase. During the year many letters 
asking for missing parts and for new exchanges were sent out, and 
a number of sets were completed in this way and new publications 
also added to the library. 

Bureau of American E'thnology.—tThe report on this library will 
be made by the ethnologist in charge and incorporated in his general 
report on the operations of the bureau. 

Astrophysical Observatory——The small collection of books con- 
stituting the reference library of the Astrophysical Observatory was 
rearranged in the cases in the main hall of the Smithsonian Building, 
to which they were transferred from one of the tower rooms. During 
the year 90 volumes, 21 parts of volumes, and 69 pamphlets were 
received. This collection of books will eventually be placed in the 
new steel stacks, for which an appropriation was made at the last 
session of Congress. 

National Zoological Park.—A small number of books on zoological 
subjects are kept in the office of the superintendent of the park. 
During the year 13 volumes and 10 pamphlets were added. 


100 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


SUMMARY OF ACCESSIONS. 


The following statement summarizes all the accessions during the 
year, except those made to the library of the Bureau of American 


Kthnology: 
To the Smithsonian deposit in the Library of Congress, including parts 
to: complete. sets’. (see p.(904) 2-2 ee ee ee eee 12, 980 
To the Smithsonian office, Astrophysical Observatory, and Zoological 
Park. 222 2k oi ea i alge ee ee 573 
Toi the United States sNational Museum >= _2- eee 4, 062 
MNO GAS eee ee ee 17, 565 


Very respectfully, 
F. W. True, 
Assistant Secretary, in charge 
of Library and Fachanges. 
Dr. Cuartes D. Watcortt, 


Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. 


APPENDIX 7. 


REPORT ON THE INTERNATIONAL CATALOGUE OF 
SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE. 


Sir: I have the honor to submit the following report on the opera- 
tions of the United States Bureau of the International Catalogue of 
Scientific Literature for the year ending June 30, 1913. 

The International Catalogue of Scientific Literature now consists of 
33 regional bureaus, anew bureau representing the Argentine Republic 
having been recently established at the Universidad de Buenos Aires. 
It appears probable that Bolivia will soon also be represented by a 
regional bureau. The following-named countries are represented by 
regional bureaus supported in most cases by direct governmental 
grants: Argentine Republic, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Cuba, Den- 
mark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Hungary, 
India and Ceylon, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New South Wales, New 
Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Queensland, Russia, South 
Africa, South Australia, Spain, Straits Settlements, Sweden, Swit- 
zerland, United States of America, Victoria and Tasmania, and 
Western Australia. 

These bureaus, acting through the London Central Bureau, form 
the organization of the International Catalogue of Scientific Litera- 
ture, whose duty it is to collect, index, classify, and publish a current 
catalogue of the world’s scientific literature. The London Central 
Bureau assembles, edits, and publishes the classified references sup- 
plied by the regional bureaus. 

The enterprise was begun in 1901 and since then there have been 
published annually 17 volumes, one each year for the following-named 
branches of science: Mathematics, mechanics, physics, chemistry, 
astronomy, meteorology, mineralogy, geology, geography, paleon- 
tology, general biology, botany, zoology, anatomy, anthropology, 
physiology, and bacteriology. 

All of the first 9 annual issues of the catalogue have been pub- 
lished, 14 volumes of the tenth issue, and 2 volumes of the eleventh, 
a total of 169 regular volumes in addition to several special volumes 
of Schedules and Lists of Journals. 

The annual subscription price for a complete set of 17 volumes is 
$85. The receipts from the sale of the catalogue are used for the 
maintenance of the central bureau, which pays for editing and print- 

101 


102 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913, 


ing the catalogue. The balance sheet for the ninth annual issue 
showed a credit for that issue of about $1,500 over and above ex- 
penses. This is considered a satisfactory showing in view of the fact 
that undertakings of this kind are in no sense commercial and can 
hardly be expected to meet necessary expenses without aid from an 
endowment or some similar source. The enterprise was begun with- 
out a working capital other than the sums advanced from time to 
time by the Royal Society of London. As interest is paid on all sums 
so advanced the financial showing is not what it would have been had 
the enterprise possessed a working capital. The sum needed to 
completely pay off all obligations and leave a substantial balance for 
the maintenance of the central bureau is only about $75,000, and it 
would be difficult to find an object more deserving of assistance and 
encouragement than this International Catalogue of Scientific Litera- 
ture whose purpose is to aid research and investigations in scientific 
fields by furnishing a current classified index to the literature of 
science. Some idea of the extent of the work may be gained from the 
fact that about two and one-half million classified citations were re- 
ceived by the central bureau from ,the regional bureaus since the 
beginning of the enterprise in 1901, of these over 290,000 were pre- 
pared by the regional bureau of the United States. 

During the year 27,995 cards were sent from this bureau to the 
London Central Bureau, as follows: 


Literature of— 


Ree ee ee Ee ME a 9 
3s aE IN REALE a aS i NS 5 
1S aie sletelnlont lala pans bist Deemed) oo 12 
AEH LLC OO ROU A ie SI OE ee 14 
sa ol MD MLSE CUPL MRSTURPealions MAN) Le G28 131 
iC SEE CRT ONL ON FE YP eaten | YL 226 
OOS ease NE Aha 324 
OOO a ie aE oi bie ee 685 
i (0) (i napa lilo cobydrte he i aN at Nb 3, 214 
12) mal ied lars oy rn ea 6, 950 
HAS LH EUAN EEA Ret TI 16, 425 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 


103 


The following table shows the number of cards sent each year as 
well as the number of cards representing the literature of each year 
from 1901 to 1912, inclusive: 


Literature of— | 1901 | 1902 | 1903 | 1904 | 1905 | 1906 | 1907 | 1908 | 1909 | 1910 | 1911 | 1912 fon 

year. 
Year ending June 
30— 

1902. EA] | al al LER rat PEE ea reli 4 PR Ih ON oh) eer WOO Meee Pr gel [> Nees 6, 990 
1903H cote e roo! GalSU RR TssOl eee a eee: eee een ee [mass oun aa lomaratnle. Soe oko eect ease 14, 480 
LOA ee eos 20 SPI EHIOC | META 2 Ea Pe DS a i 21, 213 
ADH ees ant: G19]. 25780|TV143| (SUG4Oee wo |tos ek lse sec lsce teu ee. | plat eae eee eee 24,182 
ICTR eee SyOyl|| 9: Ged OS} GRE Ns Ts MC IU Ie sae ee ee eel secor|eaacee 25, 601 
TOTS eee See aeesill eo 2721 OF 0222-578 esc eens ences [eens ene sees 28, 629 
190Rs soe os eee) 40 g| 4523] S66|.) 95615; 629) 72 217/13) 4a012 Tene Eee heetie Se Rae 28, 528 
T9002 beeen 133/092 235|0 0373), 309) .1,656| 745 410l48- 500183 784) _ ps5]. on) sees eee ae 34, 409 
LOT Osea 72| 173| 248] 465] 1,163] 1,502] 3,160] 6,305|11,994]......|......].....- 25, 082 
AQUA RARE LS 3. 3, 26] 28] 218] 129] 374] 423) 1,301| 8, 836/14, 682|/......|.....- 26, 020 
TRY GO. Set eg Rae ea a 4) 243] 386] 562] 1,480] 1,949] 3,372] 5, 231/13, 974)...... 27,201 
1OIS ee eee oss | 9 5| 12) 14) 131] 226) 324] 685] 3,214] 6, 950/16, 425] 27,995 
Motalecemsess 19, 104/22, 633]25, 312|28, 254127, 000/26, 774127, 227/28, 663/24, 887/23, 127/20, 924/16, 425] 290, 330 


Control over the catalogue is vested in a body known as the Inter- 
national Convention which has held two meetings in London, the 
last being in 1910. In the intervals between the meetings of this 
body the administration of the catalogue is directed by the Interna- 
tional Council expected to meet in London once in threg years and to 
which each country represented by a regional bureau is requested to 
send a representative. 

Meetings of the International Council were held in 1904, 1907, and 
in 1909, and a meeting of the International Convention was held 
in 1910, so that a meeting of the International Council was planned 
for 1913. This meeting, by a vote of the executive committee, was 
postponed until 1914, as a number of new plans for the reduction of 
cost and increasing the efficiency of the catalogue were either just 
going into effect, or had been in operation but a short time, and it 
was felt that the later date would give the members of the council 
a better opportunity to judge their value. 

Very respectfully, 
Leonarp C. GUNNELL, 


Assistant in Charge. 
Dr. Cuartes D, Watcorr, 


Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. 


APPENDIX 8. 
REPORT ON THE PUBLICATIONS. 


Sir: I have the honor to submit the following report on the publi- 
cations of the Smithsonian Institution and its branches during the 
year ending June 30, 1918: 

The Institution proper published during the year 40 papers in 
the series of “Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections,” an annual 
report, and pamphlet copies of 37 papers from the general appendix 
of the report. The Bureau of American Ethnology published an 
annual report and 38 bulletins, and the United States National Mu- 
seum issued 96 miscellaneous papers from the Proceedings, a new 
bulletin, reprint editions of 2 bulletins, and 9 parts of volumes per- 
taining to the National Herbarium. 

The total number of copies of publications distributed by the 
Institution proper during the year was 111,283, or 1,052 more than 
during the previous year. This aggregate includes 600 volumes and 
memoirs of Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge, 62,688 
volumes and pamphlets of Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, 
22,401 volumes and pamphlets of the Smithsonian Annual Reports, 
8,787 special publications, including volume 3 of the Annals of the 
Astrophysical Observatory and reports on the Harriman Alaska 
expedition; 15,070 volumes and pamphlets of the Bureau of Ameri- 
ean Ethnology publications, 1,646 Annual Reports of the American 
Historical Association, 8 publications of the United States National 
Museum, and 83 publications not of the Smithsonian Institution or 
its branches. The National Museum distributed a total of 71,600 
copies of its several publications. 


SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO KNOWLEDGE. 
QUARTO. 
No publications of this series were issued during the year. 
SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS. 
OCTAVO. 


Of the Miscellaneous Collections, volume 57,-2 papers were pub- 
lished; of volume 58, 1 paper, and title-page and contents of the vol- 
ume; of volume 59, 5 papers; of volume 60, 28 papers; of volume 61, 


4 papers; in all, 40 papers. These are as follows: 
104 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 105 


Volume 57. 


No. 9. New York Potsdam-Hoyt Fauna. By Charles D. Walcott. Published 
September 14, 1912. 54 p., 13 pls. (Publ. 2136.) 

No. 10. Group terms for lower and upper Cambrian series of formations. By 
Charles D. Walcott. September 16,1912. 3p. (Publ. 2137.) 


Volume 58. 


No. 2. Bibliography of the geology and mineralogy of tin. By Frank L. and 
Eva Hess. July 29, 1912. v, 408 p. (Publ. 1987.) 
Title-pages and contents. December 31, 1912. vp. (Publ. 2160.) 


Volume 59. 


No. 11. Expeditions organized and participated in by the Smithsonian Institu- 
HOnIn 910) and AOL Duly 17, 1912:, 51 p:, 1 pl. -56ones,, (eubik: 
2087.) 

No. 16. New Rodents from British East Africa. By Edmund Heller. July 5, 
1912. 20 p. (Publ. 2094.) 

No.17. New Diptera from Panama. By J. R. Malloch. July 18, 1912. 8 p. 
(Publ. 21383.) 

No. 18. New species of landshells from Panama Canal Zone. By William H. 
Dall. July 27, 1912. 3p.,2 pls. (Publ. 2134.) 

No. 20. The recognition of Pleistocene faunas. By Oliver P. Hay. August 17, 
Ola Gsp;,,10 figs, (Publ: 2139:) 


Volume 60. 


No. 1. Three new species of Pipunculide (Diptera) from Panama. By J. R. 
Malloch. September 6, 1912. 4 p., 3 figs. (Publ. 2141.) 

No. 2. New mammals from eastern Panama. By E. A. Goldman. September 
20, 1912. 18 p. (Publ. 2142.) 

No. 8. Descriptions of new genera, species, and subspecies of birds from Pan- 
ama, Colombia, and Ecuador. By E. W. Nelson. September 27, 1912. 
25 p. (Publ. 2148.) 

No. 4. Rubelzul cotton: A new species of Gossypium from Guatemala. By Fred- 
erick L. Lewton. October 21,1912. 2 p.,2 pls. (Publ. 2144.) 

No. 5. Kokia: A new genus of Hawaiian trees. By Frederick L. Lewton. 
October 22, 1912. 4p.,5 pls. (Publ. 2145.) 

No. 6. The cotton of the Hopi Indians: A new species of Gossypium. By Fred- 
erick L. Lewton. October 23, 1912. 10 p., 5 pls. (Publ. 2146.) 

No. 7. Descriptions of one hundred and four new species and subspecies of birds 
from the Barussan Islands and Sumatra. By Harry C. Oberholser. 
October 26, 1912. 22 p. (Publ. 2147.) 

No. 8. New genera and races of African ungulates. By Edmund Heller. No- 
vember 2, 1912. 16 p. (Publ. 2148.) 

No. 9. A recent meteorite fall near Holbrook, Navajo County, Arizona. By 
George P. Merrill. November 21, 1912. 4 p. (Publ. 2149.) 

No. 10. The crinoids of the Natural History Musuem at Hamburg. By Austin 
Hobart Clark. November 7, 1912. 33 p. (Publ. 2150.) 

No. 11. A fossil toothed cetacean from California, representing a new genus and 
species. By Frederick W. True. November 1, 1912. 7 p., 2 pls. 
(Publ. 2151.) 

No. 12. New races of insectivores, bats, and lemurs from British Hast Africa. 
By Edmund Heller. November 4, 1912. 18 p. (Publ. 2152.) 


106 


No. 18. 


No. 14. 


No. 15. 


No. 26. 


ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


A study of the salinity of the surface water in the North Pacific Ocean 
and the adjacent enclosed seas. By Austin Hobart Clark. December 4, 
1912. 338 p. (Publ. 2153.) 

New mammals from the highlands of Siberia. By N. Hollister. No- 
vember 29, 1912. 6p. (Publ. 2157.) 

A new subspecies of crossbill from Newfoundland. By A. C. Bent, 
December 12, 1912. 3p. (Publ. 2158.) 


. Remains in Eastern Asia of the race that peopled America. By Ales 


Hrdli¢ka. December 31, 1912. 5 p., 3 pls. (Publ. 2159.) 


. Notes on American species of Peripatus, with a list of known forms. 


By Austin Hobart Clark. January 25, 1918. 5p. (Publ. 2163.) 


. Smithsonian pyrheliometry revised. By C. G. Abbot and L. B. Aldrich. 


February 1, 1913. 7 p. (Publ. 2164.) 


9. Description of a new gazelle from northwestern Mongolia. By N. Hol- 


lister. February 8, 19138. 2p. (Publ. 2165.) 


. Description of a new African grass-warbler of the genus Cisticola. By 


Edgar A. Mearns. February 14, 1918. 2 p. (Publ. 2166.) 


. Two new subspecies of birds from the slopes of Mount Pirri, eastern 


Panama. By HE. W. Nelson. February 26, 1918. 2 p. (Publ. 2167.) 


. Descriptions of new mammals from Panama and Mexico. By EH. A. 


Goldman. February 28, 1913. 20 p. (Publ. 2168.) 


. Two new mammals from the Siberian Altai. By N. Hollister. March 


18, 1913. 3 p. (Publ. 2171.) 


. Diagnosis of a new beaked whale of the genus Mesoplodon from the 


coast of North Carolina. By Frederick W. True. March 14, 1913. 
2pea  (Publy 21'72:) ’ 

Notice of the occurrence of a Pleistocene camel north of the Arctie 
Circle. By James Williams Gidley. March 21, 1918. 2 p. (Publ. 
2173.) 


. An extinct American eland. By James Williams Gidley. March 22, 


1915.) 3) p:,.4, pl... (Publ. 2174.) 


. A new vole from eastern Mongolia. By Gerrit S. Miller, jr. March 31, 


1913 e2epe tpl (Publis 2u75:) 


. Voleanoes and climate. By C. G. Abbot and F. E. Fowle. March 28, 


1913. 24 p., 3 figs. (Publ. 2176.) 
Volume 61. 


Description of the skull of an extinct horse, found in central Alaska. 
By Oliver P. Hay. June 4, 1913. 18 p., 2 pls. (Publ. 2181.) 

Report on fresh-water Copepoda from Panama, with descriptions of 
new species. By C. Dwight Marsh. June 20, 1913. 30 p., 5 pls. 
(Publ. 2182.) 

Saffordia, a new genus of ferns from Peru. By William R. Maxon. 
May 26, 1913. 5 p., 2 pls., 1 fig. (Publ. 2183.) 


. A new dinosaur from the lance formation of Wyoming. By Charles W. 


Gilmore. May 24, 1913. 5 p., 5 figs. (Publ. 2184.) 


The following papers of the Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collec- 
tions were in press at the close of the fiscal year: 


No. 11. 


Volume 57. 


Cambrian geology and paleontology. II. New Lower Cambrian subfauna. 
By Charles D. Walcott. 309-326 p., 50-54 pls. (Publ. 2185.) 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 107 


No. 12. Cambrian geology and paleontology. II. Cambrian formations of the 
Robson Peak district, British Columbia and Alberta, Canada. By 
Charles D. Walcott. 3827-348 p., 55-59 pls. (Publ. 2186.) 

No. 138. Cambrian geology and paleontology. II. Dikelocephalus and other gen- 
era of the Dikelocephalinse. By Charles D. Walcott. 345-408 p., 60— 
70 pls. (Publ. 2187.) 


Volume 59. 


No. 19. Early Norse Visits to North America. By William H. Babcock. iii, 
213 p., 10 pls. (Publ. 21388.) 


Volume 60. 


No. 23. The influence of the atmosphere on our health and comfort in confined 
and crowded places. By Leonard Hill, Martin Flack, James Me- 
Intosh, R. A. Rowlands, and H. B. Walker. Hodgkins Fund. 96 p. 
(Publ. 2170.) 

No. 30. Explorations and field-work of the Smithsonian Institution in 1912. 
76 p., 82 figs. (Hnd of volume.) (Publ. 2178.) 


Volume 61. 


No. 1. The White Rhinoceros. By Edmund Heller. 77 p., 31 pls. (Publ. 
2180. ) 


SMITHSONIAN ANNUAL REPORTS. 
Report for 1911. 


The Annual Report of the Board of Regents for 1911 was received 
from the Public Printer in completed form in January, 1913. 


Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, show- 
ing operations, expenditures, and conditions of the Institution for the year 
ending June 30, 1911. xii, 688 p., 97 pls. (Publ. 2095.) 


Small editions of the following papers, forming the general ap- 
pendix of the annual report for 1911, were issued in pamphlet form: 


The gyrostatic compass. By H. Marchand. 5p., 3 pl. (Publ. 2096.) 

Radiotelegraphy. By G. Marconi. 15 p.,1 pl. (Publ. 2097.) 

Multiplex telephony and telegraphy by means of electric waves guided by wires. 
By George O. Squier. 21 p.,1 pl. (Publ. 2098.) 

Recent experiments with invisible light. By R. W. Wood. 12 p., 6 pls. (Publ. 
2099. ) 

What electrochemistry is accomplishing. By Joseph W. Richards. 16 p. (Publ. 
2100.) 

Ancient and modern views regarding the chemical elements. By William 
Ramsay. 15 p. (Publ. 2101.) 

The fundamental properties of the elements. By Theodore William Richards. 
Avp. (Publ. 2102.) 

The production and identification of artificial precious stones. By Noel Heaton. 
18 p., 3 pls. (Publ. 2103.) 

The sterilization of drinking water by ultra-violet radiations. By Jules Cour- 
mont. 11 p. (Publ. 2104.) 

The legal time in various countries. By M. Philippot. 8 p. Map. (Publ. 
2105. ) 


108 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913, 


Some recent interesting developments in astronomy. By J. S. Plaskett. 16 
p. (Publ. 2106.) 

The age of the earth. By J. Joly. 23 p. (Publ. 2107.) . 

International air map and aeronautical marks. By Ch. Lallemand. 8p. (Publ. 
2108. ) : 

Geologic work of ants in tropical America. By J. C. Branner, 31 p., 1 pl. 
(Publ, 2109.) 

On the value of the fossil floras of the arctic regions as evidence of geological 
climates. By A. G. Nathorst. 10 p. (Publ. 2110.) 

Recent advances in our knowledge of the production of light by living organ- 
isms. By F. Alex. McDermott. 18 p. (Publ. 2111.) 

Organie evolution; Darwinian and de Vriesian. By N. C. Macnamara. 16 
Da (eublss 225) 

Magnalia nature; or the greater problems of biology. By D’Arey Wentworth 
Thompson. 15 p. (Publ, 2113.) 

A history of certain great horned owls. By Charles R. Keyes. 11 p, 8 pls. 
(Publ. 2114.) 

The passenger pigeon. By Pehr Kalm (1759) and John James Audubon (1831). 
US jek IT Gea oil ab lsy)) 

Note on the iridescent colors of birds and insects. By A. Mallock. 8 p., 3 pls. 
(Publ. 2116.) 

On the positions assumed by birds in flight. By Bentley Beetham, 7 p., 8 pls. 
(Publ. 2117.) ; 

The garden of serpents, Butantan, Brazil. By S. Pozzi. 6 p. (Publ. 2118.) 

Some useful native plants from New Mexico. By Paul C. Standley. 16 p., 
13 pls. (Publ. 2119.) 

The tree ferns of North America. By William R. Maxon. 29 p.,15 pls. (Publ. 
2120.) 

The value of ancient Mexican manuscripts in the study of the general develop- 
ment of writing. By Alfred M. Tozzer. 14 p.,5 pls. (Publ. 2121.) 

The discoverers of the art of iron manufacture. By W. Belck. 15 p. (Publ. 
2122. 

The Kabyles of north Africa. By A. Lissauer. 16 p., 12 pls. (Publ. 2128.) 

Chinese architecture and its relation to Chinese culture. By Ernst Boersch- 
mann. 29p.,10 pls. (Publ. 2124.) 

The Lolos of Kientchang, western China By A. F. Legendre. 18 p., 4 pls. 
(Publ. 2125.) 

The physiology of sleep. By R. Legendre. 16 p. (Publ. 2126.) 

Profitable and fruitless lines of endeavor in public health work. By Edwin O. 
Jordan. 8p. (Publ. 2127.) 

Factory sanitation and efficiency. By C.-K. A. Winslow. 6p. (Publ. 2128.) 

The physiological influence of ozone. By Leonard Hill and Martin Flack. 
12 p. (Publ. 2129.) 

Traveling at high speeds on the surface of the earth and above it. By H. S. 
Hele-Shaw. 21 p. (Publ. 21380.) 

Robert Koch, 1843-1910. By C. J. M. Sp.,1pl. (Publ. 2181.) 

Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker, 1817-1911. By Lieut. Col. D. Prain. 18 p., 1 pl. 
(Publ. 2182.) 


Report for 1912. 
The report of the executive committee and proceedings of the 


Board of Regents of the Institution, as well as the report of the 
Secretary for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1912, both forming part 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 109 


of the annual report of the Board of Regents to Congress, were pub- 
lished in pamphlet form in December, 1912, as follows: 


Report of the executive committee and Proceedings of the Board of Regents 
for the year ending June 30, 1912. 22 pp. (Publ. 2155.) 

Report of the secretary of the Smithsonian Institution for the year ending 
June 30, 1912. iii, 110 p., 2 pl. (Publ. 2156.) 


The general appendix to the Smithsonian Report for 1912 was in 
type, but actual presswork was not completed at the close of the fiscal 
year. In the general appendix are the following papers: 


The year’s progress in astronomy, by P. Puiseux. 

The spiral nebule, by P. Puiseux. 

The radiation of the sun, by C. G. Abbot. 

Molecular theories and mathematics, by Emile Borel. 

Modern mathematical research, by G. A. Miller. 

The connection between the ether and matter, by Henri Poincaré. 

Experiments with soap bubbles, by C. V. Boys. 

Measurements of infinitestimal quantities of substances, by William Ramsay. 

The latest achievements and problems of the chemical industry, by Carl 
Duisberg. 

Holes in the air, by W. J. Humphreys. 

Review of applied mechanics, by L. Lecornu. 

Report on the recent great eruption of the voleano ‘‘ Stromboli,” by Frank A. 
Perret. 

The glacial and postglacial lakes of the Great Lakes region, by Frank B. Taylor. 

Applied geology, by Alfred H. Brooks. 

The relations of paleobotany to geology, by F. H. Knowlton. 

Geophysical research, by Arthur L. Day. 

A trip to Madagascar, the country of beryls, by A. Lacroix. 

The fluctuating climate of North America, by Ellsworth Huntington. 

The survival of organs and the “ culture” of living tissues, by R. Legendre. 

Adaptation and inheritance in the light of modern experimental investigation, 
by Paul Kammerer. 

The paleogeographical relations of antarctica, by Charles Hedley. 

The ants and their guests, by P. E. Wasmann. 

The penguins of the antarctic regions, by L. Gain. 

The derivation of the European domestic animals, by C. Keller. 

Life: its nature, origin, and maintenance, by EH. A. Schifer. 

The origin of life: a chemist’s fantasy, by H. E. Armstrong. 

The appearance of life on worlds and the hypothesis of Arrhénius, by Alphonse 
Berget. 

The evolution of man, by G. Elliot Smith. 

The history and varieties of human speech, by Edward Sapir. 

Ancient Greece and its slave population, by S. Zaborowski. 

Origin and evolution of the blond Europeans, by Adolphe Bloch. 

History of the finger-print system, by Berthold Laufer. 

Urbanism: A historic, geographic, and economic study, by Pierre Clerget. 

The Sinai problem, by E. Oberhummer. 

The music of primitive peoples and the beginnings of Huropean music, by 
Willy Pastor. 

Expedition to the South Pole, by Roald Amundsen. 

Icebergs and their location in navigation, by Howard T. Barnes. 

Henri Poincaré, his scientific work, his philosophy, by Charles Nordmann, 


110 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 
SPECIAL PUBLICATIONS. 
The following special publications were issued in octavo form: 


Publication lists. 


Classified list of Smithsonian publications available for distribution January 1, 
1913. Published February 25, 1913. vi, 31 p. (Publ. 2161.) 

Publications of the Smithsonian Institution issued between January 1 and 
July 1, 1912, July 19,1912: 2) p. (Publ. 2135.) 

Publications of the Smithsonian Institution issued between January 1 and 
October 1, 1912. October 28, 1912. 3p. (Publ. 2154.) 

Publications of the Smithsonian Institution issued between January 1 and 
December 31, 1912. February 1, 1918. 5 p. (Publ. 2162.) 

Publications of the Smithsonian Institution issued between January 1 and 
Mareh 31, 1918. April 10, 19138. 1p. (Publ. 2179.) 


Zoological nomenclature. 


Opinions rendered by the International Commission on Zoological Nomencla- 
ture, Opinions 52-56. May 10, 1918. 12 p. (Publ. 2169.) 
The following special publication was in press at the. close of the 
fiscal year: 
Harriman Alaska series. 


Vol. 14. Monograph of Shallow-water Starfishes of the North Pacific Coast from 
the Arctic Ocean to California. By Addison Emery Verrill. xii, 338 p., 110 
pl. (Publ. 2140.) 


PUBLICATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 


The publications of the National Museum are: (a) The annual 
report to Congress; (0) the proceedings of the United States Na- 
tional Museum, and (c) the bulletin of the United States National 
Museum, which includes the contributions from the United States 
National Herbarium. The editorship of these publications is vested 
in Dr. Marcus Benjamin. 

The publications issued by the National Museum during the year 
comprised 96 papers of the Proceedings, 2 bulletins, and 9 parts of 
Contributions from the National Herbarium. 

The issues of Proceedings were as follows: Vol. 42, papers 1907 to 
1922, inclusive; Vol. 43, papers 1923 to 1945, inclusive; Vol. 44, papers 
1946 to 1975, inclusive; Vol. 45, papers 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 
1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 
1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2008, and 2004; a total 
of 96 papers. 

The bulletins were as follows: 

Bulletin 79. List of North American Land Mammals in the United States Na- 
tional Museum, 1911. By Gerrit S. Miller, jr. 
Bulletin 81. Synopsis of the Rotatoria. By Harry K. Harring. 

In the series of Contributions from the National Herbarium (oc- 

tavo) there appeared: 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. Last 


Volume 16. 


Part 3. The North American species of Nymphaea. By Gerrit S. Miller, jr., and 
Paul C. Standley. 

Part 4. Descriptions of new plants preliminary to a report upon the flora of New 
Mexico. By E. O. Wooton and Paul C. Standley. 

Part 5. Miscellaneous Papers. By C. V. Piper, J. N. Rose, Paul C. Standley, 
W. E. Safford, and E. S. Steele. 

Part 6. Three new genera of stilt palms (Iriarteacee) from Colombia, with a 
synoptical review of the family. By O. F. Cook and C. B. Doyle. 

Part 7. Studies in Cactacee. Part 1. By N. L. Britton and J. N. Rose. 

Part 8. Relationships of the false date palm of the Florida Keys, with a synop- 
tical key to the families of American palms. By O. F. Cook. 

Part 9. The genus Epiphyllum and its allies. By N. L. Britton and J. N. Rose. 


Volume 17. 


Part 1. The lichen flora of southern California. By Hermann Edward Hasse. 
Part 2. Studies of tropical American ferns. No. 4. By William R. Maxon. 


There was also reprinted an edition of 500 copies of Bulletin 71, 
Part 2, A monograph of the Foraminifera of the North Pacific Ocean. 
Part II. Textulariide, by Joseph A. Cushman; and an edition of 100 
reprints of Bulletin 79, List of North American Land Mammals in 
the United States National Museum, 1911, by Gerrit S. Miller, jr. 

Among the National Museum publications in press at the close of 
the year were: Bulletin 80, A descriptive account of the building re- 
cently erected for the departments of natural history of the United 
States National Museum, by Richard Rathbun. 131 p., 34 pl, and 
the annual report for 1912. 


PUBLICATIONS OF THE BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY. 


The publications of the bureau are discussed elsewhere in the Sec- 
retary’s report. The editorial work is in the charge of Mr. J. G. 
Gurley. 

One annual report and two new bulletins, together with a partially 
revised edition of a third bulletin, were issued during the year, as 
follows: 


Twenty-eighth Annual Report, containing (“Accompanying Papers,” as follows: 
(1) Casa Grande, by Jesse Walter Fewkes; (2) Antiquities of the Upper 
Verde River and Walnut Creek Valleys, Arizona, by Jesse Walter Fewkes; 
(3) Preliminary Report on the Linguistic Classification of Algonquian Tribes, 
by Truman Michelson.) 

Bulletin 30. Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico, edited by Fred- 
erick Webb Hodge. [By concurrent resolution of Congress in August, 1912, 
a reprint of this bulletin was ordered in an edition of 6,500 copies, of which 
4,000 were for the use of the House of Representatives, 2,000 for the use of 
the Senate, and 500 for the use of the bureau. This reprint, in which were 
incorporated such desirable alterations as could be conveniently made with- 
out affecting the pagination of the work, was issued in January, 1913.] 


112 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


Bulletin 52. Early Man in South America. By AleS Hrdlitka in collaboration 
with William H. Holmes, Bailey Willis, Fred. Eugene Wright, and Clarence 
N. Fenner. 

Bulletin 54. The Physiography of the Rio Grande Valley, New Mewico, in Re- 
lation to Pueblo Culture. By Edgar Lee Hewett, Junius Henderson, and Wil- 
fred William Robbins. 

The Twenty-ninth Annual Report (“Accompanying Paper,” The 
Ethnogeography of the Tewa Indians, by John Peabody Harrington) 
was in press at the close of the year. 

* 


PUBLICATIONS OF THE SMITHSONIAN ASTROPHYSICAL OBSERVA- 
TORY. 


Volume III of the Annals of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Ob- 
servatory was printed and nearly ready for distribution at the close 
of the fiscal year. 


PUBLICATIONS OF THE AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 


The annual reports of the American Historical Association are 
transmitted by the association to the Secretary of the Smithsonian 
Institution, and are communicated to Congress under the provisions 
of the act of incorporation of the association. 

The annual report for 1910 was published October 22, 1912, with 
contents as follows: 


Report of the proceedings of the twenty-sixth annual meeting of the American 
Historical Association. By Waldo G. Leland, secretary. 

Report of the proceedings of the seventh annual meeting of the Pacific coast 
branch. By Jacob N. Bowman, secretary of the branch. 

The efforts of the Danish Kings to secure the English crown after the death 
of Harthacnut. By Laurence M. Larson. 

The records of the privy seal. By James F. Baldwin. 

Royal purveyance in fourteenth-century England in the light of Simon Islip’s 
Speculum Regis. By Chalfant Robinson. 

Anglo-Dutch relations, 1654-1660. By Ralph C. H. Catterall. 

Some critical notes on the works of 8. R. Gardiner. By Roland G. Usher. 

The Mexican policy of southern leaders under Buchanan’s administration. By 
James Morton Callahan. 

The decision of the Ohio Valley. By Carl Russell Fish. 

North Carolina on the eve of secession. By William K. Boyd. 

The inception of the Montgomery convention. By Armand J. Gerson. 

The attitude of Congress toward the Pacific Railway, 1856-1862. By Allen 
Marshall Kline. 

The work of the Western State Historical Society, as illustrated by Nevada. 
By Jeanne E. Wier. 

Proceedings of the seventh annual conference of historical societies, 

The study of history in secondary schools. Report of the Committee of Five. 

Hleventh annual report of the public archives commission. By Herman Y. 
Ames, chairman. 

Appendix A. Proceedings of the second annual conference of archivists. 

Appendix B. Report on the archives of the State of Indiana. By Harlow 
Lindley. 


| 
) 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 118 


Appendix C. Report on the archives of the State of Kentucky. By Irene T. 
Myers. 

Appendix D. Report on the archives of the State of Nebraska. By Addison E. 
Sheldon. 

Appendix EH, Notes on the archives of the Philippines. By James A. Robertson. 

Writings on American History, 1910. By Grace G. Griffin. 


The report for 1911, in two volumes, was sent to the printer on 
January 9, 1913, and at the close of the year was nearly ready for 
distribution. The contents are as follows: 


Volume I. 


Report of the proceedings of the twenty-seventh annual meeting of the American 
Historical Association. By Waldo G. Leland, secretary. 
Report of the proceedings of the eighth annual meeting of the Pacific coast 
branch. By H. W. Edwards, secretary of the branch. 
The archives of the Venetian Republic. By Theodore F. Jones. 
Materials for the history of Germany in the sixteenth and seventeenth cen- 
turies. By Sidney B. Fay. 
The materials for the study of the English cabinet in the eighteenth century. 
By Edward Raymond Turner. 
Francois de Guise and the taking of Calais. By Paul van Dyke. 
Factions in the Hnglish privy council under Elizabeth. By Conyers Read. 
Anglo-Dutch relations, 1671-1672. By Edwin W. Pahlow. 
American-Japanese intercourse prior to the advent of Perry. By Inazo Nitobe. 
Colonial society in America. By Bernard Moses. 
French diplomacy and American politics, 1794-1795. By James Alton James. 
The insurgents of 1811. By D. R. Anderson. 
The tariff and the public lands from 1828 to 1838. By Raynor G. Wellington. 
The “Bargain of 1844” as the origin of the Wilmot proviso. By Clark H. 
Persinger. 
Monroe and the early Mexican revolutionary agents. By Isaac Joslin Cox. 
Public opinion in Texas preceding the Revolution. By Hugene C. Barker. 
Relations of America with Spanish America, 1720-1744. By H. W. V. Tem- 
perley. 
The genesis of the Confederation of Canada. By Cephas D. Allin. 
Proceedings of the eighth annual conference of historical societies. 
List of European historical societies. 
Twelfth report of the public archives commission. By Herman V. Ames, chair- 
man. 
Appendix A. Proceedings of the third annual conference of archivists. 
Appendix B. Report on the archives of the State of Colorado. By James F. 
Willard. 
Appendix C. List of commissions and instructions to governors and lieuten- 
ant governors of American and West Indian Colonies, 1609-1784. 
Writings on American history, 1911. By Grace G. Griffin. 


Volume ITI. 


Ninth report of the historical manuscripts commission: Correspondence of 
Alexander Stephens, Howell Cobb, and Robert Toombs. 


44863°—sM 1913-8 


114 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


PUBLICATIONS OF THE SOCIETY OF THE DAUGHTERS OF THE 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 


The manuscript of the Fifteenth Annual Report of the National 
Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution for the year 
ending October 11, 1912, was communicated to Congress March 19, 


1913. 


THE SMITHSONIAN ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON PRINTING AND 
PUBLICATION. 


The editor has continued to serve as secretary of the Smithsonian 
advisory committee on printing and publication. To this committee 
have been referred the manuscripts proposed for publication by the 
various branches of the Institution, as well as those offered for print- 
ing in the Smithsonian publications. The committee also considered 
forms of routine, blanks, and various matters pertaining to printing 
and publication, including the qualities of paper suitable for text 
and plates. Twenty-two meetings were held and 138 manuscripts 


were acted upon. 


Respectfully submitted. 
A. Howarp Crarn, Hditor. 


Dr. Cuartes D. Watcort, 
Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. 


Bitte, Se ee 


APPENDIX 9. 
HODGKINS FUND. 


ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON THE LANGLEY AERO- 
DYNAMICAL LABORATORY. 


OFFICIAL STATUS. 


Authorization —On May 1, 1918, the Regents of the Smithsonian 
Institution, approving a general scheme submitted by Secretary 
Walcott, authorized the secretary, with the approval of the executive 
committee, to reopen the Langley Aerodynamical Laboratory; to 
appoint an advisory committee; to add, as means are provided, other 
laboratories and agencies; to group them into a bureau organization ; 
and to secure the cooperation with them of the Government and. other 
agencies. 

Functions.—The committee is to advise as to the organization and 
work of the Langley Aerodynamical Laboratory and of the bureau 
organization when adopted, and the coordination of their activities 
with the kindred labors of other establishments, governmental and 
private; it is to plan for such theoretical and experimental investiga- 
tions, tests, and reports as may serve to increase the safety and 
effectiveness of aerial locomotion for the purposes of commerce, 
national defense, and the welfare of man. But neither the com- 
mittee nor the Smithsonian Institution will promote patented devices, 
furnish capital to inventors, or manufacture commercially, or give 
regular courses of instruction for aeronautical pilots or engineers. 

The organization, under regulations to be established and fees to ° 
be fixed by the secretary, approved by the Smithsonian executive 
committee, may exercise its functions for the military and civil de- 
partments of the Government of the United States, and also for any 
individual, firm, association, or corporation within the United States; 
provided, however, that such department, individual, firm, associa- 
tion, or corporation shall defray the cost of all material used and of 
all services of persons employed in the exercise of such functions. 

With the approval of the Secretary of the Institution, the com- 
mittee is to collect aeronautical information, such part of the same as 
may be valuable to the Government, or the public, to be issued in 
bulletins and other publications. 


1 Reprinted from Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, vel. 62, No. 1, 1913. 
115 


116 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


Se > ae 


Membership and Privileges—The advisory committee is to be 
composed of the director of the Langley Aerodynamical Laboratory, — 
when appointed, and one member to be designated by the Secretary — 


of War, one by the Secretary of the Navy, one by the Secretary of — 


Agriculture, and one by the Secretary of Commerce, together with 


such other persons, to be designated by the Secretary of the Smith- 
sonian Institution, as may be acquainted with the needs of aeronau- — 


tics, the total membership of such committee not to exceed 14. 


The members of the advisory committee, as such, are to serve 


without compensation, but will have refunded the necessary expenses 


incurred by them in going to Washington to attend the meetings of 


the committee and returning therefrom, and while attending the 
meetings. 

Approval of the President—On May 9, 1913, the President of the 
United States, by request of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Insti- 


tution, approved the designation of representatives of the above- 


named departments to serve on the advisory committee. 
ORGANIZATION. 


Officers.—The advisory committee, as constituted at its organiza- 
tion meeting, convened by Secretary Walcott at the Smithsonian 
Institution, May 28, 1913, comprises a chairman, a recorder, and 
12 additional members, all of whom are to serve for one year. The 
officers are to be elected annually on or about May 6, and the mem- 
bers for the ensuing year are to be appointed prior to the date of 
such election. 

The chairman. has general supervision of the work of the advisory 
committee, presides at its meetings, receives the reports of the sub- 
committees, and makes an annual report to the Secretary of the 
Smithsonian Institution. Said report must include an account of 

_the work done for any department of the Government, individual, 
firm, association, or corporation, and the amounts paid by them to 
defray the cost of material and services, as hereinbefore mentioned. 


The recorder keeps the minutes of the meetings of the committee 


and assists the chairman in conducting correspondence and preparing 
reports pertaining to the business of the committee. 
Subcommittees.—The chairman, with the approval of the advisory — 
committee, may appoint standing and special subcommittees to per] 
form such functions as may be assigned to them. 
The standing subcommittees may have assigned to them investiga- 


tions and tests of a permanent character, which they may prosecute — 


{ 
} 
; 


from year to year and on which they are to make quarterly reports — 


to the chairman, followed by an annual report. Each subcommittee 
comprises a chairman, who must be a member of the advisory com- 
mittee, and others, chosen by him from that committee or elsewhere. 


} 
» 


i 
4 
4 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. TL 
AGENCIES, RESOURCES, AND FACILITIES. 


Smithsonian Institution—The advisory committee has been pro- 
vided by the Smithsonian Institution with suitable office headquarters, 
an administrative and accounting system, library and publication 
facilities, lecture and assembly rooms, and museum space for aero- 
nautic models. The Langley Aerodynamical Laboratory has an 
income provided for it not to exceed $10,000 the first year (of which 
$5,000 has been allotted), and $5,000 annually for five years. 

United States Bureau of Standards.—For the exact determina- 
tion of aerophysical constants, the calibration of instruments, the 
testing of aeronautic engines, propellers, and materials of construc- 
tion, the committee has the cooperation of the United States Bureau 
of Standards, from which the Secretary of Commerce has designated 
one representative. 

This bureau has a complete equipment for studying the mechanics 
of materials and structural forms used in air-craft; for standard- 
izing the physical instruments—thermometers, barographs, pressure 
gauges, etc.—used in air navigation; and for testing the power, 
efficiency, etc., of aeronautical motors in a current of air representing 
the natural conditions of flight. 

In these general branches the technical staff of the bureau is pre- 
pared to undertake such theoretical and experimental investigations 
as may come before the advisory committee on behalf of either the 
Government or private individuals or organizations. 

United States Weather Bureau.—For studies of and reports on 
every phase of aeronautic meteorology, besides the usual forecasting, 
the committee has the cooperation of the United States Weather 
Bureau, from which the Secretary of Agriculture has designated one 
representative. 

This bureau has an extensive library of works on or allied to 
aeronautics, an instrument division for every type of apparatus for 
studying the state of the atmosphere, a whirling table of 30-foot 
radius for standardizing anemometers, a complete kite equipment 
with power reel, and a sounding balloon equipment with electrolytic 
hydrogen plant, all of which are available for scientific investigations. 
For special forecasts, anticipating field tests or cross-country voyages, 
the general service of the bureau may be called upon. 

War and Navy Departments.—These departments, while especially 
interested in aeronautics for national defense, can be of service in 
advancing the general science. Each has an aeronautical library; 
each has an official representative in foreign countries who reports 
periodically on every important phase of the art, whether civil or 
military; each has an assignment of officers who design, test, and 
operate air craft, and who determine largely the scope and character 


118 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


of their development; each has its aeronautic station equipped with 
machines in actual service throughout the year. Besides various 
aviation establishments, the War Department has a balloon plant at 
Fort Myer, Va., and at Omaha, Nebr.; the Navy has its marine model 
basin, useful for special experiments in aeronautics, its extensive 
shops at the Washington Navy Yard, available for the alteration or 
repair of air craft or the manufacture of improved military types, 
and at Fort Myer three lofty open-work steel towers suitable for 
studies in meteorology or aerodynamics in the natural wind. Further- 
more, the Navy Department has detailed an officer for special re- 
search in aeronautics at one of the principal engineering schools. 
Because of their fundamental interest in aeronautics, each of these 
departments has two representatives on the advisory committee, 
and each will be able to place at the service of the committee one or 
more skilled aviators and aeroplanes for systematic experimentation. 


PRESENT NEEDS. 


In presenting the needs of the organization, it is well to remark 
that the Smithsonian Institution possesses the unique character of 
being a private organization having governmental functions and 
prerogatives. It can receive appropriations directly from Congress; 
it can be the recipient or the custodian of private funds for the in- 
crease and diffusion of knowledge; it can deposit such private funds 
with the United States Treasury, or place them otherwise, as may be 
required by the donor. Likewise, it can be the recipient or custodian 
of material objects representing any province of nature or any 
branch of human knowledge or art. This unique character allows the 
public to anticipate or supplement the cooperation of Congress in 
promoting the aerodromical (aeronautical ) work of the Tasticanees 

Endowment funds.—Persons approving the purpose of the organi- 
zation and desiring its continuity and permanence can not do better 
than to provide for it a steady income, either for general or for 
specific use. Individual endowment funds bearing the name of the 
giver or other person, and presented to the Smithsonian Institution, 
or placed in its custody at the disposal of the committee, may be 
recommended; also collective funds bearing the name of a society, 
organization, or section of the country, whether in the interest of 
scientific progress or of national defense. 

Temporary funds.—F or the prompt achievement of definite results, 
funds may well be offered for immediate application, both of prin- 
cipal and interest; as, for example, for the erection of laboratories or 
other buildings; for the purchase of experimental air craft, or appa- 
ratus, instruments, etc. 

Most needed is an expansion of the Langley Aerodynamical Labo- 
ratory providing a large and a small wind tunnel, ampler shops, and 


 . a. ee 


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 119 


instrument and model rooms. Adjacent to this, or forming a part 
of it, may well be the headquarters of the committee, with the col- 
lections of aeronautic publications and exhibits, and with designing 
rooms where plans for air craft may be matured by fabricators in 
consultation with the technical staff. This new building, if placed 
on the Smithsonian grounds, should be of good architecture and cost 
not less than $100,000. 

Of immediate importance is an air-craft field laboratory, adjacent 
to ample flying space of land and water, and adapted to assembling, 
adjusting, and repairing several full-scale land and water aeroplanes, 
and subjecting them to indoor tests and measurements, as of stress, 
strain, factor of safety, center of gravity, moment of inertia, work- 
ing condition, etc. One such plant suitably located would serve all 
governmental and civilian requirements for the present. A suitable 
site is the public land in Potomac Park in the vicinity of the Smith- 
sonian Institution. Here might be held air-craft competitions under 
the auspices of the Government. 

Prizes and awards—As a stimulus to the highest aeronautic 
achievement, or as an honorable recognition thereof, suitable prizes 
or awards might advantageously be offered. Provision should be 
made for liberal cash prizes for competitive tests of motors, pro- 
pellers, etc., in a purely scientific way not trenching upon the prov- 
ince of aero clubs. 

Fellowships—¥ or the prosecution of special aeronautic investiga- 
tions in cooperation with the advisory committee, educational insti- 
tutions and scientific or engineering organizations should be pro- 
vided with research fellowships whose incumbents may have the 
counsel of the committee and the advantage of its equipments. 

Until adequate appropriations have been made by the Government 
the activities of the organization and committee will have to be 
sustained largely by private resources. 


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REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE BOARD OF 
REGENTS OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION FOR THE YEAR 
ENDING JUNE 30, 1918. 


To the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution: 

Your executive committee respectfully submits the following re- 
port in relation to the funds, receipts, and disbursements of the 
Institution, and a statement of the appropriations by Congress for 
the National Museum, the International Exchanges, the Bureau of 
American Ethnology, the National Zoological Park, the Astrophysi- 
cal Observatory, and the International Catalogue of Scientific 
Literature for the year ending June 30, 1918, together with balances 
of previous appropriations: 


SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. 


Condition of the fund July 1, 1913. 


The permanent fund of the Institution and the sources from which 
it has been derived are as follows: 


DEPOSITED IN THE TREASURY OF THE UNITED STATES. 


eMieStmOnStANPMSOM: o4Gl20 22 $515, 169. 00 
Pesimiiynesicy.of smithson, 1867_--...-_---.---_-_- $2 a 26, 210. 63 
DEpoOxineromosayines Of Income, 1867_-...____. -. 108, 620. 37 
Bemiestvoraaimes: Hamilton, 18752. -._ $1, 000. 00 
Accumulated interest on Hamilton fund, 1895__________ 1, 000. 00 
——_—__—_——. 2, 000. 00 
Benmeraousimeon label, 1880 2 2 ee 500. 00 
Deposits from proceeds of sale of bonds, 1881____________________ 51, 500. 00 
SaennomasG) Hodgkins, 189122. 8 200, 000. 00 
Part of residuary legacy of Thomas G. Hodgkins, 1894_____________ 8, 000. 00 
epost trom savings of income, 19038. - {ee ee 25, 000. 00 
Residuary legacy of Thomas G. Hodgkins, 1907____________-_----- 7, 918. 69 
Weposit tromysavings of-income, 1913.2 ~~~. 636. 94 
Bequest of (William Jones Rhees, 1913_.-_-_.__... 2 set 251. 95 
Deposit of proceeds from sale of real estate (gift of Robert Stan- 
aTPAVCL VA) MLO pia asst o DA oh ke ee et ee 9, 692, 42 
Total amount of fund in the United States Treasury__----~ 955, 500. 00 


121 


122 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


OTHER RESOURCES. 


Registered and guaranteed bonds of the West Shore Railroad Co., 
part of legacy of Thomas G. Hodgkins (par value) _____________ $42, 000. 00 


Motel permeameter Ne ee ee ae ee Re 997, 500. 00 


Also three small pieces of real estate bequeathed by Robert Stanton Avery, 
of Washington, D. C., one of the original four pieces and part of another haying 
been sold during the year and the proceeds deposited in the United States 
Treasury as an addition to the permanent fund. 


That part of the fund deposited in the Treasury of the United 
States’ bears interest at 6 per cent per annum, under the provisions 
of the act of Congress of August 10, 1846, organizing the Institution, 
and the act approved March 12, 1894. The rate of interest on the 
West Shore Railroad bonds.is 4 per cent per annum. The real estate 
received from Robert Stanton Avery is exempt from taxation and 
yields only a nominal revenue from rentals. 


Statement of receipts and disbursements from July 1, 1912, to June 80, 1913. 


RECEIPTS. 
Croteonsceposit wUly 1, 1912 280 ee ee ee $338, 060. 09 
Interest on fund deposited in United States Treasury 
quer iulyelet Oia and Jan, 1, 1913-2. 0 een $56, 695. 12 
Interest on West Shore Railroad bonds due July 1, 1912, 
PUR EOL Mme ACTINIUM ILO) Trey iu iy Wa Lh ee ld se, we a 1, 680. 00 


Repayments, rentals, publications, sale of real estate, ete. 17, 920.12 
Contributions from various sources for specific purposes_ 16, 575. 50 


92, 870. 74 
125, 930. 83 
DISBURSEMENTS. 
Paces carerand: repairs... 2 eee 5, 715. 66 
PUMEMMTIne AMO TXOUPeS 2.2 4 bP a ee A ee eee 1, 396. 97 
General expenses : 
Sede INT NCS mpenmnenpeg a oe A er ors arr yore, ele $18, S04. 31 
Sipe acanir eSrs poem rete oe CE ce SY ee 339. 00 
IeRRE ORC UTpVpren epee tal eet So tN ee ce ee 810. 18 
Postage, telegraph, and telephone____—~=—_--_-____ 710. 29 
TIRES ai pees cree Sir ay ee A ee ee 98. 85 
LE Eri Seat TSU US Sr ee 2 058s0e 
Rea TST e1)e acne ed Se toe a ee 2, 448. 74 
TEU SulanG Us INES) 0 ches Pi LRT be EERE Pe 91. 26 
————— _ 25, 361. 10 
TL LS EL eR epee Meee Mer ey Caen TIE: 2, 892. 50 
Publications and their distribution: 
Miscellaneous: collections —..- 24.) 2. ee 4, 986. 32 
JEX(E§ a0 TS) Sale a SI et AL Ase OEE Ses eee Pe 825.18 
SHecla A pUDlICATIONS Lt kt sta easy ey Crees 454. 51 
Publications supplies#.42— 2. + 3 ph ee ee 306. 27 
SST ES Ce oe eS 8 CB eee LIE RE op 6, 558. 00 
————— _ 18, 110. 28 
Dixplorations,, researches, and collections) 2220282 2.222 ee 20, 8938. 48 
Hodgkins specifie fund, researches and publications_____________--_ 1, 664. 96 


International’ Mxchanges 200 25 ook 2 ee ee ee 4, 289. 92 


REPORT OF EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. 123 


(CREB Reyee Cag HIRANO Rae 2 BSC MUD es 0s oe da ep a $29. 63 


a VoNEeS tor MelO EXPENSES, ELCs. 2 i. aah ee ee 6, 805. 67 
Wepositeatorcredi of permanent fund 2.02 Ces ee 10, 581. 31 
pene, aecrodynamical Uaboratory——-—- 90 2 48. 00 
92, 289. 43 

Balance, June 30, 19138, deposited with the Treasurer of the 
TTP ee gh [SURROGATE A la ee Nee aa Meee Ns LL 33, 641. 40 


125, 930. 83 


By authority your executive committee again employed Mr. Wil- 
liam L. Yaeger, a public accountant of this city, to audit the receipts 
and disbursements of the Smithsonian Institution during the period 
covered by this report. The following certificate of examination 
supports the foregoing statement, and is hereby approved: 

WASHINGTON, D. C., July 31, 1913. 
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE BOARD OF REGENTS, 
Smithsonian Institution. 


Sirs: I have examined the accounts and vouchers of the Smithsonian Institu- 
tion for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1913, and certify the following to be a 
eorrect statement: 


areas ifrseemrnen ce Ne eee $92, STO. T4 
VG GT STOTENES Cire SST Se TE ee 92, 289. 43 
Excess of receipts over disbursements______________________ 581. 31 
Seinen ner ihvenl | TOU 2 kee ed ee eee 33, 060. 09 
Rainceronm hand sume oO, 1913-2. 33, 641. 40 
Balance shown by Treasury statement June 30, 1918______________ 39, 342. 24 
MMR TICIoO NCHeCKS: 222 be ot eee 5, 700. 84 
erence: gune oO. LOTS. 2 an i el en oe ee 33, 641. 40 


The vouchers representing payments from the Smithsonian income during the 
.year, each of which bears the approval of the secretary, or, in his absence, of 
the acting secretary, and a certificate that the materials and services charged 
were applied to the purposes of the Institution, have been examined in con- 
nection with the books of the Institution and agree with them, excepting voucher 
No. 3514, to Andrew D. White for $50, which was canceled together with check 
after entry upon the books, for which credit will be given in July account. 

(Signed ) WILLIAM L. YAEGER, 
Public Accountant and Auditor. 

All moneys received by the Smithsonian Institution from interest, 
sales, refunding of moneys temporarily advanced, or otherwise, are 
deposited with the Treasurer of the United States to the credit of 
the Institution, and all payments are made by checks signed by the 
secretary. 

The expenditures made by the disbursing agent of the Institution 
and audited by the Auditor for the State and Other Departments are 
reported in detail to Congress and will be found in the printed 
document. 


124 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


Your committee also presents the following summary of appro- 
priations for the fiscal year 1913 intrusted by Congress to the care of 
the Smithsonian Institution, balances of previous appropriations at 
the beginning of the fiscal year, and amounts unexpended on June 
30, 1913: 


wars Balance 


July 1, 1912. June 30, 1913. 


$5. 02 1 $5.02 

2,973.13 31 

32, 090. 00 4,065. 41 

580. 64 1365.51 

2,576. 64 50.56 

ee) sae 

b 09. 4. 

3, 802. 73 612.59 

13, 000 Be as 38 

4.50 4.50 

682.04 25.95 

7,500. 00 681.58 

MlevAtOrs Nutibosonian Building, 19UI 202221) 2} 2 ee eee oe 946.06 1946.06 
National Museum— 

Mims angeixtures, 19M fe lice cn. swt ae eee Nae 287.04 1 287.04 

HrmanITe yaa fixtures 1912.25. fave. ee cee ake eee 37, 359. 32 1,54 

ete MOUS UTES 1913): os... ok seine reeks One seee tease eeenanee 50, 000. 00 11, 617.95 

ean PrenOichtineIOUL oe. 2 5oc2 sec nese gees eahsece Sec eens 4,153.20 1 4,153.20 

igs airs uae [i atedny pho At Up eae eee ee gee anon pee ere yg. 1S 4, 036. 43 124. 68 

Delain at oy ita ba [ee Soe ee eet ae Sree os yrs 50, 000. 00 12, 689. 65 

lerceervatiomorcollections, 1911.2... oo. secs ce cence geese mses seer 7,030. 94 11,132.28 

ETeseVvanom OLcolechions, 1912 0. iio... ne eae enc eta seein 8, 932.37 1,355. 71 

iareceivarionmoveolechions, 1913.00 02 2.0. 2. veal ook yee 300, 000. 00 17, 393.54 

ES OORA LGM ieten Ne cists cesses cu cisteslnonte sesouse ce eb see ty aS Ey eas 42.76 114,97 

TRYCIOL SS, LI A eer ne a NS ee ey aS 690. 30 26.54 

TS EPN MMO EERE TNED tee ime noe se cea ceves ntlen cee cece ee cee se eee eee 2, 000. 00 845.21 

LESS EBiy NETRA ng 900:00))|2c0 = eee 

emimamome pains, VOUT oc ites casa ealeinle oo Mage Soe ees 108.19 1108.19 

PEMUGUTI OOD HITS ALO se icinc ble cosa cebes Leese esse eee eee seme eee 4,751.95 18. 44 

Emp erOM AES MOIS ek ee eee tbls. Bee ee 10, 000. 00 576.05 

PamGineeNaional Museum? : <i.) 2: eS yo EE ee 1,675. 65 1,613.25 

Mtaeanlcolosical Park, 1911.........-.222-..sc0seescec-oseecsese nes 10. 74 1 40. 74 

Renan oOMerWPark 1919. 5.) oe re eae to ee eee 4,970.35 186. 83 

Manion ieeoolnpieaubank MOIS co koe a nie ee ae 100, 000. 00 9,459. 75 

Bridge over Rock Creek, National Zoological Park.................-.---.--- 20, 000. 00 18, 224. 02 


1 Carried to credit of surplus fund. 
Statement of estimated income from the Smithsonian fund and fron, other 
sources, accrued and prospective, available during the fiscal year ending 
June 80, 1914. 


PaAmerrtINeroOn LOT. 8 eee $338, 641. 40 
Interest on fund deposited in United States Treasury, 
Ateriiyes tole. and Jan. 1, 19140 0008 oe eee $57, 726. 33 
Tuterest on West Shore Railroad bonds, due July 1, 1913, 
Syst -iptoe  IU3 9 T hp Ue Ba A as a eee er cactee  oe eee  O 1, 680. 00 
Exchange repayments, sale of publications, refund of 
SV GLH ELNVECEIS LEY CL SS A, SR Be a kL 7, 800. 00 
WENGNIESELOL SPCCINIC PUTPOSES2. 2 a 12, 000. 00 
79, 206. 38 
Total available for year ending June 30, 1914__________..____ 112, 847.7 


Respectfully submitted. 
A. O. Bacon, 


ALEXANDER GRAHAM BE LL, 
Joun DawzeEt1, 


Executive Committee. 
Wasurneton, D. C., Vovember 22, 1913. 


PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOARD OF REGENTS OF THE SMITH- 
SONIAN INSTITUTION FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING 
JUNE 30, 1913. 


ANNUAL MEETING DECEMBER 12, 1912. 


Present: The Hon. Edward D. White, Chief Justice of the United 
States, chancellor, in the chair; Senator S. M. Cullom; Senator 
Henry Cabot Lodge; Senator A. O. Bacon; Representative John 
Dalzell; Representative Scott Ferris; Representative Irvin S. Pep- 
per; Dr. Andrew D. White; Dr. Alexander Graham Bell; Mr. 
Charles F. Choate, jr.; Mr. John B. Henderson, jr.; the Hon. Charles 
W. Fairbanks; and the secretary, Mr. Charles D. Walcott. 


SELECTION OF TEMPORARY CHAIRMAN. 


The secretary, in the absence of a presiding officer, called the meet- 
ing to order. 
On motion, the Chief Justice was invited to the chair. 


ANNOUNCEMENT OF DEATH OF CHANCELLOR. 


The secretary announced the death of Vice President Sherman, 
chancellor of the Institution. 

Senator Lodge submitted the following resolutions, which were 
unanimously adopted: 


Whereas the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution have received 
the sad intelligence of the death on October 80, 1912, of James Schoolcraft 
Sherman, Vice President of the United States and chancellor of the Institu- 
tion: Therefore be it 
Resolved, That in the passing away of this distinguished official the country 

has lost a man whose unsullied public career and blameless private life marked 

him as one of the best exemplars of the highest type of American patriotism 
and citizenship; while this Institution has been deprived of the association of 

’ a regent and presiding officer whose loyalty to its purposes and zeal in its inter- 

ests have been an inspiration to his colleagues; 

Resolved, That we tender to the family of Mr. Sherman our respectful and 
sincere sympathy in their great bereavement; 

Resolved, That an engrossed copy of these resolutions be transmitted to the 
family of the late chancellor. 


ELECTION OF CHANCELLOR. 


On motion, it was 
Resolved, That the Chief Justice of the United States be elected 


chancellor of the Smithsonian Institution. 
125 


126 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 
APPOINTMENT OF REGENTS. 


The secretary announced the appointment, by jeint resolution of 
Congress, approved by the President, of Dr. Andrew D. White, to 
serve until June 26, 1918, and of the Hon. Charles W. Fairbanks, to 
serve until July 3, 1918. 


RESOLUTION RELATIVE TO INCOME AND EXPENDITURE. 


Senator Bacon, chairman of the executive committee, presented 
the following resolution, which was adopted: 

Resolved, That the income of the Institution for the fiscal year ending June 
30, 1914, be appropriated for the service of the Institution, to be expended by 
the secretary, with the advice of the executive committee, with full discretion 
on the part of the secretary as to items. 


ANNUAL REPORT OF EXECUTIVE COMMITTHE. 


Senator Bacon, chairman, submitted the report of the executive 
committee for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1912. 
On motion, the report was adopted. 


ANNUAL REPORT OF PERMANENT COMMITTHE. 


The secretary, on behalf of the committee, presented the following 
report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1912: 

Research Corporation.—The development of the Research Corpo- 
ration, which is handling the Cottrell patents offered to the Insti- 
tution for the benefit of research, has been progressing steadily 
during the past year. 

The corporation was organized under the laws of the State of 
New York on February 26, 1912, in essential accordance with the 
plans explained at the last meeting of the board, on February 8, 1912. 

At present a number of installations are being made for the precipi- 
tation process that in the near future will bring in a revenue to the 
corporation. 

The work of the corporation has grown so rapidly that it has been 
found necessary to increase the technical staff and office accommo- 
dations in New York. 

Tt must be understood that in the development of any business of 
this character several years are required for experimentation and the 
installation of machinery for getting it on a successful working 
basis. 

The George W. Poore bequest.—Three independent appraisals have 
been made of the valuation of the real estate embraced in the Poore 
bequest, and a recent offer for the purchase of a few of the lots has 
been recommended for acceptance by the permanent committee. 


“\ 
PROCEEDINGS OF REGENTS. 127 


A recent report from the executor shows that the estate is being 
settled as rapidly as possible. 

Avery bequest.—Since the last meeting an offer of $5,335 net has 
been received for an unimproved lot on East Capitol Street, and 
has been accepted. 

On motion, the report was adopted. 


ANNUAL REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 


The secretary presented his annual report on the operations of 
the Institution for the fiscal year ending June 380, 1912. 

He stated, in relation to the publications issued by the Institution, 
that since the last annual meeting of the Regents there had been 
printed by the Institution and its branches a total of 161 publica- 
tions, aggregating about 7,000 pages of text and 650 plates of illus- 
trations. Of this aggregate 90 volumes and pamphlets (2,369 pages 
and 193 plates) pertained to the Institution proper; 68 volumes and 
pamphlets (3,500 pages and 397 plates) related directly to the work 
of the National Museum; and 3 volumes (1,041 pages and 68 plates) 
were descriptive of investigations by the Bureau of American 
Ethnology. The total number of copies of all publications dis- 
tributed during the year was about 180,000. 

On motion, the report was accepted. 


REPORT OF THE COMMITTER ON THE LANGLEY MEMORIAL TABLET. 


Senator Lodge, chairman of the committee, submitted the follow- 
ing report: 

“ Your committee on the Langley memorial tablet begs to report 
that Mr. John Flanagan’s design, which was accepted by the board 
at the annual meeting on December 14, 1911, has been cast in bronze, 
and is now in the place selected for it, the north vestibule of the 
Smithsonian building.” 

In this connection the secretary read the following letter: 


DECEMBER 10, 1912. 
Hon. CHARLES D. WALCOTT, 
Secretary Smithsonian Institution. 

DeEar Dr. WAtcotTT: I have the pleasure of informing you that the Aero Club 
of Washington expects to celebrate Langley Day on Tuesday, May 6, 1913, by 
holding an aviation meet on the Potomac River front, probably at the Wash- 
ington Barracks, and will be pleased to have the Smithsonian Institution 
participate in that event and any functions which may be associated with it. 

The Army and Navy aviators and various wealthy aero clubmen at large, 
who own and operate land and water aeroplanes, have expressed their wish to 
fly on that occasion. 

Invitations to the meet will be sent to the officers (and their wives) of the 
Aero Club of America and to the presidents of the 20 or more affiliated clubs, 
in addition to the usual Washington list, comprising representatives of the 
official and social life of the city. 


128 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


If the Smithsonian Institution contemplate any ceremony for that date or 
thereabout, the board of management of the Aero Club will be pleased to 
accommodate its plans to any you may have in view for that time. 

Very truly, yours, 
A. F. ZAHM, 
Secretary Aero Club of Washington. 


The secretary said that in view of the facts set forth in Dr. Zahm’s 
letter it had occurred to him that the Langley Day celebration would 
be a very appropriate time for the unveiling of this tablet. 

On motion, the report of the committee was accepted with thanks, 
and the committee requested to arrange for the unveiling of the 
tablet on Langley Day. 


THE LANGLEY MEDAL. 


The secretary stated that at the annual meeting on December 15, 
1908, the board had established the Langley medal, the first of which 
had been awarded to the Wright brothers on February 10, 1910. 
The committee was now considering another award, and would be 
ready to report its recommendations at the meeting of the board in 
February next. 


THE SECRETARY’S STATEMENT. 


National Museum.—The work of installation in the exhibition 
halls of the new building has been pushed with so much vigor since 
the beginning of the year that in the course of another month the 
last of these halls, being those devoted to the mammals and to prehis- 
toric archeology, should be ready for the public. 

Evans collection.—It is extremely gratifying to note the continued 
and very material interest of Mr. William T. Evans, of New York, 
in the welfare of the National Gallery of Art. Beginning in 1907 
with a tender of 50 paintings by contemporary American artists, 
and twice increasing the extent of his offer, first to 100 paintings and 
later to 100 artists, Mr. Evans has recently completed this important 
gift, which comprises a total of 139 paintings. The collection is not 
only the most prominent feature of the gallery now installed in 
Washington but is also a remarkable presentation of modern Ameri- 
can art. 

Senator Lodge submitted the following resolution, which was 
adopted : 


Resolved, by the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, That the 
secretary be directed to convey to Mr. William T. Evans the expression of their 
sense of deep obligation for his continued and valuable donations to the National 
Gallery of Art, constituting a collection representative to a remarkable degree 
of the work and talent of contemporary American painters. 


PROCEEDINGS OF REGENTS. 129 
SMITHSONIAN EXPEDITIONS. 


A brief résumé of the results obtained follows: 

Biological survey of the Panama Canal Zone.—This survey was 
completed and the work accomplished was very valuable to science. 
It included collections and observations of vertebrate animals, land 
and fresh-water mollusks, and flowering plants (including grasses) 
and ferns. Collections had been made of fishes, reptiles, and amphib- 
ians, birds and mammals, and special studies and collections had 
been made of the microscopic plant and animal life of the fresh 
waters of the zone. Pamphlets had been issued from time to time 
describing new forms of animals and plants, and as soon as the mass 
of material could be worked up a more general account of the results 
of the survey would be accomplished. 

Rainey African expedition—The Paul J. Rainey expedition re- 
ferred to at the last meeting came to a successful close during the 
winter of 1911-12. Mr. Edmund Heller, a Smithsonian naturalist 
and a member of the Smithsonian African expedition, accompanied 
Mr. Rainey and reported collections as follows: 


Pimms (laree)) 2 ee Serve ge eR ee 750 
SPER ES Tine iil) paps Se ya EY ts Nt 5, 000 
vostiy (JE. se co ceteree a ct ea a ee ene ES 400 
og Tats) lek EUSA ee ec Bee Ree Mele a Beek ete IL 
0 AOL WIVEYOUIVS) <2 8 ola RG ee eae ee 8 Meng we Bea) 3! 500 

8, 650 


During the entire expedition Mr. Heller was Mr. Rainey’s guest. 
Mr. Rainey gave him all the native assistants that he could use and 
accorded him perfect freedom as regards choice of collecting ground. 


_ Mr. Heller was thus able to visit the exact regions from which ma- 


terial was most needed to supplement that procured by the Smith- 
sonian African expedition. After studying the mammals in the 
_ British Museum Mr. Heller reported that the United States National 
_ Museum now had the finest series of East African mammals in the 
world. 

Eighty lions were secured on the expedition, which more than 
tripled the highest previous record for Africa. 

The Childs-Frick African expedition—This expedition left New 
York in October, 1911, and arrived at Djibouti, on the Red Sea, in 
_ French Somaliland, November 22. As previously stated, it was ac- 
- companied by Col. Edgar A. Mearns, United States Army, retired, 
» who was a member of the Smithsonian African expedition. 

The Frick party traversed the territory lying north of that visited 
by: Col. Roosevelt and Mr. Rainey, covering at the samé time certain 
_ parts of Abyssinia, northern British East Africa, and the: meres 

44863°—sm 1913——-9 


130 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


lying about Lake Rudolf. The expedition ended about September 1, | 
1912, and the party sailed for America on September 16, | 

The collections as a whole embraced plants, mammals, birds, rep-— 
tiles, bactrachians, fishes, mollusks, crustaceans, and other inverte- 
brates. About 5,000 birds were obtained for the National Museum. 

Borneo expedition—The board would recall that Dr. W. L. Ab- 
bott, a collaborator of the United States National Museum, very 
generously contributed the sum of $5,000 for carrying on an expedi- 
tion to Dutch East Borneo. Reports had been received that the ex- 
pedition was successful, but as yet the specimens acquired had not 
been shipped. ) 

Lyman Siberian expedition—The expedition to the Altai Moun- 
tains, in Siberia, which was financed by Dr. Theodore Lyman, of 
Cambridge, Mass., left Washington May 21, 1912, and returned Sep- 
tember 16, 1912. As arranged, Mr. Ned Hollister, a naturalist in 
the National Museum, accompanied Dr. Lyman. The expedition re- 
sulted in the securing of 350 mammals, 300 birds, and 100 miscel- 
laneous specimens. | 

The mammals would remain in the National Museum, while the 
birds were intended for the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cam- 
bridge. The scientific work was entirely in charge of Mr. Hollister, 
assisted by an experienced alpinist, Conrad Kain. The region cov- 
ered lay in the Kurai district, Government of Tomsk. The collection 
of mammals was one of the mcst important received in recent years, as 
the region was hitherto unrepresented in the Museum, and the fauna 
was of special interest on account of its close relationship with that 
of the United States. 

British Columbia expedition.—Under the direction of the secretary 
an expedition was undertaken in British Columbia north of the 
Yellowhead Pass route of the new Grand Trunk Pacific Railway. 

Outfitting at Fitzhugh, the party entered the high mountain 
ranges northwest of the Yellowhead Pass, 275 miles north of the 
forty-ninth parallel—the boundary between the United States and 
Canada. Two of the young men of the party collected mammals, 
the skins and skulls of which are now in the National Museum. 

The special work of the secretary was to determine upon the best 
locality for a geological section of the mountain ranges forming the 
main mass of the Canadian Rockies in this region. A general section 
was carried across the main range in such a manner as to ascertain 
that there was a thickness of some 12,000 feet of Cambrian fossil-— | 
iferous sedimentary rocks and 3,000 feet of Ordovician strata above. 
In other words, the main mountain peaks and ridges of this region, 
one of the most picturesque known in America, were carved by the 
action of rain, frost, snow, and ice from this great series of sandstones 
and limestones. ; 


PROCEEDINGS OF REGENTS. 1B) 


Large collections were also made from the famous Burgess Pass 
fossil locality. 

Algerian eupeditionIn 1911 the attention of the board was 
called to the work of Director Abbot, of the Astrophysical Observa- 
tory, in connection with studies of the sun as a variable star. He was 
sent to Bassour, Algeria, to observe the so-called “solar constant of 
radiation,” while similar observations were made at the Mount 
Wilson (Cal.) station by Assistant L. B. Aldrich. These measure- 
ments had been reduced and strongly confirm the supposed variability 
of the sun. 

In May, 1912, Mr. Abbot returned to Algeria, while Aid F. E. 
Fowle made observations in California. The results were not yet 
reduced, but little doubt was felt that they would be quite sufficient 
to fully prove the supposed variability of the sun. 

A most interesting observation was made by Messrs. Abbot and 
Fowle in connection with this work. It will be recalled that on 
June 6, 1912, a volcanic eruption took place in Alaska. Mr. Abbot 
noted on June 19 (only 13 days after the eruption) a smoky appear- 
ance in the sky, which rapidly increased. Throughout the remainder 
of his stay in Algeria the sky assumed a whitish hazy appearance 
and the quantity of the direct radiation from the sun was reduced 
about 25 per cent below that he had observed in the preceding year. 
Similarly, Mr. Fowle observed the same appearances beginning with 
June 21, but owing to the greater elevation of his station on Mount 
Wilson the decrease in the intensity of the direct solar radiation 
was not quite so great as had been found in Algeria. Similar effects 
were noted in Washington, beginning June 11, and have lasted ever 
since. 

Mr. Abbot made in Algeria some measurements of the radiation 
diffused from the sky, and he drew the conclusion that the total 
radiation of the sky and the sun combined was less during the sum- 
mer of 1912 by about 7 or 8 per cent than generally during the same 
months. This defect in the quantity of the radiation available to 
warm the earth would naturally have produced a decrease in the 


earth’s temperature. Hence the pronounced coolness of the past 


summer seems to be explained as due to the world-wide dissemina- 
tion of a blanket of volcanic dust from the Alaska eruption. 

Lake Baikal region, Siberia.—Mr. George Mixter, of Boston, Mass., 
an experienced big-game hunter, volunteered to get material for the 
Museum at and near Lake Baikal during the summer of 1912 and was 
appointed a collaborator for two years. He reports the capture of 


‘two bear, several Baikal seal, various small mammals, and a collec- 


tion of fish from the lake, but no specimens have been received. He 
has not yet returned. 


132 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


British North Borneo.—Mr. D. D. Streeter, jr., of Brooklyn, N. Y., 
volunteered to collect in British North Borneo for the Museum and ~ 
was appointed collaborator for two years. He left New York about — 
April 15, 1912, and has sent a few reptiles and bats taken in Algeria 
on his way eastward. 

Alaskan boundary.—Mr. Copley Amory, jr., of Cambridge, Mass., 
volunteered to accompany the Coast and Geodetic Survey party en- 
gaged in surveying the Alaskan-Canadian boundary. He was ap- 
pointed collaborator of the National Museum and joined the party 
in the field about July 10, 1912, remaining throughout the season. 
He reports excellent results, including the capture of six or more 
caribou, probably of a species hitherto known from a few skulls only, 
but no specimens have yet been received. 

North China—Mr. A. de C. Sowerby is making collections in 
North China for the National Museum through the liberality of a 
gentleman who desires that his identity be not disclosed. Mr. Sow- 
erby’s work has been interrupted by the Chinese revolution, but he 
has recently sent in six wild sheep, two Manchurian wapiti, and a 
few other mammals, birds, and reptiles collected in northern Shansi 
in May, 1912. 

Siberia and Mongolia.—\ would ask the board’s attention to the 
anthropological researches conducted in Siberia and Mongolia by 
Dr. AleS Hrdlicka, Curator, division of physical anthropology, 
United States National Museum, as mentioned on page 11 of the 
annual report. Dr. Hrdiléka is now preparing for an expedition 
to South America, where he will work in conjunction with the 
Panama-California Exposition of San Diego. His specimens will 
ultimately find their way to the National Museum. 


REGULAR MEETING, FEBRUARY 13, 1913. 


Present: The Hon. Edward D. White, Chief Justice of the United 
States, chancellor, in the chair; Senator Henry Cabot Lodge; Senator 
A. QO. Bacon; Representative John Dalzell; Dr. Alexander Graham 
Bell; the Hon. George Gray; Mr. Charles F. Choate, jr.; Mr. 
John B. Henderson, jr.; and the secretary, Mr. Charles D. Walcott. 


REAPPOINTMENT OF REGENT. 


The secrétary announced the reappointment of Judge Gray as a 
citizen Regent, by joint resolution of Congress, approved by the 
President; to serve until February 7, 1919. 


PROCEEDINGS OF REGENTS. 116433 


USE OF THE AUDITORIUM IN THE NEW BUILDING OF 'THE UNITED 
STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 


After discussion the following regulations were adopted: 


1. The use of the auditorium is authorized for any meetings or other func- 
tions originating with the Institution. 

2. The secretary of the Institution is authorized, in his discretion, to grant 
the use of the auditorium— 

(a) To organizations having objects and activities directly related to 
those of the Institution, and 

(6b) For Government purposes upon the request of the President, the 
Secretary of an Hxecutive Department, or the head of an independent 
branch. 

3. All requests for the use of the auditorium for purposes other than as 
above indicated shall be submitted to the permanent committee, who are em- 
powered to act. ; 

4. All extra expenses attendant upon the use of the auditorium, except 
by the Institution and its branches, shall be paid by the organization or Goy- 
ernment branch having such use. 


DONATION OF JOHN B. HENDERSON, JR. 


The secretary stated that Mr. Henderson had donated the sum of 
$500 for the construction at the Zoological Park of an outside cage 
for the parrots, in which these birds were now thriving satisfactorily. 

Mr. Choate offered the following resolution, which was adopted: 

Resolved, That the thanks of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian In- 
stitution are hereby tendered to their colleague, Mr. John B. Henderson, jr., 


for his generosity in providing the funds requisite for the construction of an 
open-air cage for certain birds at the National Zoological Park. 


GIFT OF MRS. EDWARD H. HARRIMAN. 


The secretary announced the gift to the Institution by Mrs. Ed- 
ward H. Harriman of a set of the publication, The North American 
Indian, by Edward 8. Curtis, a project involving 20 volumes and 
an expenditure from first to last of nearly $1,000,000. 

Hight volumes and portfolios had been issued and delivered to the 
Institution, and the remaining 12 would be received as printed. 

Judge Gray offered the following resolution, which was adopted: 

Resolved, That the thanks of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian In- 
stitution be tendered to Mrs. Edward H. Harriman for the gift of a set of 


The North American Indian, by Edward S. Curtis, and especially for the kindly 
feeling that prompted her in bestowing this valuable work upon the Institution. 


SMITHSONIAN AFRICAN EXPEDITION. 


The secretary spoke as follows: 

“Considerable interest is being taken by the public in relation 
to the disposition of the collections made by the Smithsonian African 
expedition under the leadership of Col. Theodore Roosevelt, also as 


134 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


to the people who contributed the money for paying the propor- 
tionate share of the expenses of the three men sent out by the Smith- 
sonian with Col. Roosevelt. 

“The collections, when received, were distributed to the various 
departments of the National Museum to which they pertained; the 
birds were sent to the bird department, the large animals to the 
mammal] department, the plants to the botanical department, and so 
on. A number of groups of the large mammals have been prepared, 
and a number of individual specimens mounted for exhibition pur- 
poses. The greater portion of the specimens have been placed in 
the study series, and the duplicates will be distributed by exchange 
or otherwise. 

“The groups of large mammals now mounted will shortly be 
placed on exhibition in the new museum mammal hall where the 
larger animals will be exhibited. Those that were on exhibition have 
been temporarily withdrawn, in order to assign them to their proper 
place in the classification in the hall, which is closed temporarily 
pending the arrangement of the cases containing the specimens. 

“Tt now seems an opportune time to make a final statement relat- 
ing to the expedition, and with this in view the secretary recently 
communicated with the parties who contributed to the fund, and has 
thus far received replies from the following that they have no objec- 
tion to their names being given to the public. In this connection the 
secretary wishes to state that up to this week Col. Roosevelt has not 
known who the contributers were, with the exception of Mr. Carnegie 
and possibly one or two personal friends. 

“Tt has not been the custom of the Institution to publish the 
names of contributors to research work or expeditions conducted 
under its direction until such enterprise had been completed, and only 
then when the contributor had no objection to such publication. 

“The contributors include Mr. Edward D. Adams, of New York 
City; Hon. Robert Bacon, of Boston, Mass.; Mr. Cornelius N. Bliss, 
of New York City; Mr. James Campbell, of St. Louis, Mo.; Mr. 
W. Bayard Cutting, of New York City; Mr. Andrew Carnegie, of 
New York City; Mr. Cleveland H. Dodge, of New York City; Mr. 
K. H. Gary, of New York City; Mr. John Hays Hammond, of Wash- 
ington, D. C.; Col. H. L. Higginson, of Boston, Mass.; Mr. Hennen 
Jennings, of Washington, D. C.; Mr. J. S. Kennedy, of New York 
City; Mr. Ralph King, of Cleveland, Ohio; Hon. George von L. 
Meyer, of Washington, D. C.; Mr. D. O. Mills, of New York City; 
Hon. T. H. Newberry, of Michigan; Mr. L. L. Nunn, of Provo, Utah; 
Mr. H. C. Perkins, of Washington, D. C.; Mr. George W. Perkins, of 
New York City; Mr. Henry Phipps, of New York City; Mrs. White- 
law Reid, of New York City; Hon. Elihu Root, of Washington, 


PROCEEDINGS OF REGENTS. LS5 


-D. C.; Mr. J. C. Rosengarten, of Philadelphia, Pa.; Mr. Jacob H. 
Schiff, of New York City; Mr. Isaac N. Seligman, of New York 
City; Mr. O. M. Stafford, of Cleveland, Ohio; Hon. Oscar S. Straus, 
of New York City; and Mr. Isidor Straus, of New York City. 
“From the contributions the Smithsonian’s three-fifths’ share of 
all the expenses were paid; the other two-fifths were paid by Col. 
Roosevelt, which covered all his personal expenses and those of his 
son and their proportionate two-fifths’ share of the total expenses 
of the expedition. 
“The following is the complete list of the collection made by the 
expedition that have been received by the Institution: 


IAI TOTES 2 ayy a BE a RR OIE VN AE Mr el Deen 5, 013 
TEVMONS! co ok Dy en a OE eR FOUR EEY Ns 4, 453 
Ene CNMI GUM OST Seis oe ee i ae Uy 
Pomme saAmUgOaeraACMIANS 22 2 eo a Dae 
TS TASSEY fect pO ER CGS AAT 
eo Aenea nes Le Pe Re eee ), LDS 
SBE oe hie ee a ee A os ed BNI PPPS TCS 0, 500 
SIRES ok A Ce i EY NS UN 1, 500 
Parco ameousmimvertebrateg=s 2 <2 650 

SE OTER LL Sy Ovey era a 02) ah PSS ac a NY leone Oe 28, 169 


“ As the result of this expedition the biological collections now in 
the National Museum from East Africa are probably the most com- 
plete and systematic of any in the world.” 


AWARD OF LANGLEY MEDALS. 


The committee on the Langley medal presented the following 


report: 


WASHINGTON, D. C., February 13, 1918. 
Hon. CHagtes D. WALCOTT, 


Secretary Smithsonian Institution. 

Dear Siz: The committee on the award of the Langley medal recommends 
that medals be awarded to— 

1. Monsieur Gustave Hiffel, for advancing the science of aerodromics by his 
researches relating to the resistance of the air in connection with aviation. 

2. Mr. Glenn H. Curtiss, for advancing the art of aerodromics by his suc- 
cessful development of a hydroaerodrome, whereby the safety of the aviator has 
been greatly enhanced. 

Respectfully submitted. 

ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL. 
JAMES MEANS. 
J. A. BRASHEAR, 


After remarks by Dr. Bell, the following resolution was adopted: 


Resolved, That the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution approve 
the recommendations of the committee on the Langley medal that said medal be 
awarded to Gustave Hiffel and Glenn H. Curtiss for advances in the science 
and art of aerodromics, respectively; and that arrangements be made to pre- 

sent the medals on May 6, 1913 (Langley day). 


136 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


AERODYNAMICAL LABORATORY. 


The secretary brought before the board the question of the estab- — 
lishment of a laboratory for the study of aerodynamics under the — 
direction of the Institution. He spoke of the work done by the late 
Secretary Langley under the auspices of the Smithsonian Institution — 
and the War Department, and of the studies being conducted by other — 
nations which had regularly established laboratories. 

After full discussion of the question, the following resolution was 
adopted : 

Resolved, That the subject matter of the secretary’s recommendations be 
referred to a committee of three, to be appointed by the chancellor, to report at — 
the next meeting of the board. | 

The chancellor appointed as the committee Judge Gray, Dr. Bell, — 
and Mr. Dalzell. 


AMERICAN SCHOOL OF ARCHEOLOGY AT PHKIN. 


The secretary said: 

“The American School of Archeology in China was launched at a — 
meeting held at the Smithsonian Institution at 10 a. m., January 3, 
1913, by a committee consisting of Dr. Harry L. Wilson, president of 
the Archeological Institute of America; Dr. Charles D. Walcott, sec- 
retary of the Smithsonian Institution; and Mr. Charles L. Freer, of 
Detroit. 

“ According to a statement submitted by Prof. Francis W. Kelsey, 
of the University of Michigan, who appeared before. the committee 
by invitation, the objects of the school are: First, to prosecute archeo- 
logical research in Eastern China; second, to afford opportunity and 
facilities for investigation to promising and exceptional students, 
both foreign and native, in Asiatic archeology; third, to preserve 
objects of archeological and cultural interest in museums in the 
countries to which they pertain, in cooperation with existing or- 
ganizations, such as the China Monuments Society, the Société 
d’Ankor, ete. 

“The management of the affairs of the school was placed in the 
hands of an executive committee of five, consisting of Dr. Charles D. 
Walcott, of the Smithsonian Institution; Mr. Charles Henry Butler, 
reporter of the Supreme Court; Dr. Harry L. Wilson, of Johns Hop- — 
kins University; Mr. Charles L. Freer, of Detroit; and Mr. Eugene © 
Meyer, jr., the New York financier. 

“ Besides the above mentioned executive committee there were also — 
present by invitation Prof. Francis W. Kelsey, Prof. Mitchell Car- 
roll, Mr. Frederick McCormick, and Mr. William H. Holmes. 

“The purposes and great possibilities of this movement for first 
turning American archeological research directly to eastern Asia 


PROCEEDINGS OF REGENTS. 137 
has already, since the proposal was made in October last, excited 
great interest in American scientific and educational circles. 

“The general committee consists of: Former President James B. 
Angell, of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; former President 
Charles W. Eliot, of Harvard University; William Rutherford 
Mead, the New York architect; Mitchell Carroll, of Washington, 
D. C.; Charles L. Hutchinson, of Chicago, Ill.; J. Pierpont Morgan, 
of New York City; Charles Henry Butler, of Washington, D. C.; 
Mr. Frederick McCormick, of Pekin, who organized in China the 
first movement for the investigation and protection of Chinese monu- 
ments; Henry White, of Washington, D. C.; Francis W. Kelsey, of 
the University of Michigan; Eugene Meyer, jr., of New York City; 
Willard D. Straight, secretary of the American group of banks in 
China; Secretary Charles D. Walcott, of the Smithsonian Institu- 
tion; Harry L. Wilson, of Johns Hopkins University; Charles L. 
Freer, of Detroit, Mich. 

“Dr. Walcott was elected chairman of the general committee and 
Mr. Butler its secretary. 

“To carry out the program looking to the formation of the Amer- 
ican School of Archeology on the soil of China the Hon. Edward T. 
Williams, first secretary and chargé d’affaires of the American lega- 
tion in Pekin; Dr. Charles D. Tenney, American consul at Nan- 
king; and the American minister to China, ex officio, were selected to 
head the advisory committee in China. 

“Several American archeologists appeared before the committee 
during its discussions, including Mr. Edgar L. Hewett, Mr. Charles 
T. Currelly, and Mr. Langdon Warner. 

“Langdon Warner was selected to make a preliminary survey in 
the Chinese Republic, to cover a period of a year or a year and a 
half, and to report at the next annual meeting of the general com- 
mittee on the advisability of establishing the American School of 
Archeology in China.” 


SPECIAL MEETING, THURSDAY. MAY 1. 1913. 


Present: The Hon. Edward D. White, Chief Justice of the United 
States, chancellor, in the chair; the Hon. Thomas R. Marshall, Vice 
President of the United States; Senator Henry Cabot Lodge; Sena- 
tor A. O. Bacon; Dr. Alexander Graham Bell; the Hon. George 
Gray; Mr. John B. Henderson, jr.; and the secretary, Mr. Charles 


D. Walcott. 
APPOINTMENT OF REGENTS. 


The secretary announced the appointment, by the Vice President, 
of Senator A. O. Bacon and Senator William J. Stone as Regents of 
the Institution. 


138 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


CHAIRMAN OF EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. 4 


Senator Bacon was reelected chairman of the executive committee. 


ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF AWARDS OF THE LANGLEY MEDAL, i. 


BEAULIEUSMER, February 17, 1913. 
CHARLES WALCOTT, 
Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution: 
I am very sensible of the great honor that you announce to me, and thank 
you, begging you to transmit an expression of my appreciation to the council. 
GUSTAVE EIFFEL. 


CurTISS AVIATION CAMP, NorgTH ISLAND, 
San Diego, Cal., February 24, 1913. 
Mr. C. D. WALCOTT, 
Secretary Smithsonian Institution. 
Drag Sir: I am just in receipt of a communication from the office advising 
me of the recent award of the Langley medal. 
This award is indeed a surprise to me and I greatly appreciate being the 
recipient. 
I will plan to be in Washington on May 6. 
Yours, sincerely, G. H. Curtiss. 


BORNEO EXPEDITION. 


Announcement was made at the board meeting of February 8, 
1912, that Dr. William L. Abbott, a collaborator of the Institution 
and Museum for many years, had given the Institution $5,000 for 
use in continuing certain collections in Borneo. 

Dr. Abbott has recently sent a check for an additional $3,000 for 
the work. 


THH LANGLEY AHRODYNAMICAL LABORATORY. 


The committee on the Langley aerodynamical laboratory ap- 
pointed by the Board of Regents at the meeting of February 13, sub- 
mitted its report, and after full discussion the following resolutions 
were adopted : 


Whereas the Smithsonian Institution possesses a laboratory for the study of 
questions relating to aerodynamics, which has been closed since the death of 
its director, the late Dr. S. P. Langley, formerly Secretary of the Smithsonian 
Institution; and 

Whereas it is desirable to foster and continue, in the institution with which he 
was connected, the aerodynamical researches which he inaugurated : 
Resolved, That the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution hereby 

authorizes the Secretary of the Institution, with the advice and approval of 

the executive committee, to reopen the Smithsonian Institution laboratory for 
the study of aerodynamics, and take such steps as in his judgment may be 
necessary to provide for the organization and administration of the laboratory 
on a permanent basis; ’ 

That the aerodynamic laboratory of the Institution shall be known as the 

Langley Aerodynamical Laboratory ; 


PROCEEDINGS OF REGENTS. 139 


That the functions of the laboratory shall be the study of the problems of 
aerodromics, particularly those of aerodynamics, with such research and ex- 
perimentation as may be necessary to increase the safety and effectiveness of 
aerial locomotion for the purposes of commerce, national defense, and the wel- 
fare of man; 

That the secretary is authorized to secure, as far as practicable, the coopera- 
tion of governmental and other agencies in the development of aerodromical 
research under the direction of the Smithsonian Institution. 


DEATH OF FORMER REGENT JOHN B. HENDERSON. 


Judge Gray submitted the following resolution, which was adopted: 


Whereas the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution have heard with 
profound sensibility of the death of the honorable John B. Henderson, long 
time a member of the board: 

Resolved, That a committee of three be appointed by the chancellor to prepare 

a suitable minute commemorative of his character as a citizen and public servant 

and of his valuable service to this Institution, to be reported at the next meet- 

ing of the board. 


The chancellor appointed as the committee Judge Gray, Senator 
Lodge, and the secretary. 


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GENERAL APPENDIX 


TO THE 


SMITHSONIAN REPORT FOR 1913 


141 


ADVERTISEMENT. 


The object of the GznrraL Aprenpix to the Annual Report of the ~ 
Smithsonian Institution is to furnish brief accounts of scientific dis- 
covery in particular directions; reports of investigations made by 
collaborators of the institution; and memoirs of a general character 
or on special topics that are of interest or value to the numerous 
correspondents of the institution. 

It has been a prominent object of the Board of Regents of the 
Smithsonian Institution, from a very early date, to enrich the annual 
report required of them by law with memoirs illustrating the more 
remarkable and important developments in physical and biological 
discovery, as well as showing the general character of the operations 
of the institution; and this purpose has, during the greater part of 
its history, been carried out largely by the publication of such papers 
as would possess an interest to all attracted by scientific progress. 

In 1880 the secretary, induced in part by the discontinuance of an 
annual summary of progress which for 80 years previous had been 
issued by well-known private publishing firms, had prepared by com- 
petent collaborators a series of abstracts, showing concisely the prom- 


inent features of recent scientific progress in astronomy, geology, 


meteorology, physics, chemistry, mineralogy, botany, zoology, and 
anthropology. This latter plan was continued, though not altogether 
satisfactorily, down to and including the year 1888. 

In the report for 1889 a return was made to the earlier method of 
presenting a miscellaneous selection of papers (some of them original) 
embracing a considerable range of scientific investigation and dis- 
cussion. This method has been continued in the present report for 
1913. 

143 


THE EARTH AND SUN AS MAGNETS: 


By Dr. GrorcGe. ELLERY HALE,’ 
Mount Wilson Solar Observatory. 


[ With 8 plates. ] 


In 1891 Prof. Arthur Schuster, speaking before the Royal Insti- 
tution, asked a question which has been widely debated in recent 
years: “Is every large rotating body a magnet?” Since the days of 
Gilbert, who first recognized that the earth is a great magnet, many 
theories have been advanced to account for its magnetic properties. 
Biot, in 1805, ascribed them to a relatively short magnet near its 
center. Gauss, after an extended mathematical investigation, sub- 
stituted a large number of small magnets, distributed in an irregu- 
lar manner, for the single magnet of Biot. Grover suggested that 
terrestrial magnetism may be caused by electric currents, circulating 
around the earth and generated by the solar radiation. Soon after 
Rowland’s demonstration in 1876, that a rotating electrically charged 
body produces a magnetic field, Ayrton and Perry attempted to 
apply this principle to the case of the earth. Rowland at once 
pointed out a mistake in their calculation, and showed that the high 
potential electric charge demanded by their theory could not possibly 
exist on the earth’s surface. It remained for Schuster to suggest 
that a body made up of molecules which are neutral in the ordinary 
electrical or magnetic sense may nevertheless develop magnetic prop- 
erties when rotated. 

We shall soon have occasion to examine the two hypotheses ad- 
vanced in support of this view. While both are promising, it can 
not be said that either has been sufficiently developed to explain com- 
pletely the principal phenomena of terrestrial magnetism. If we 
turn to experiment, we find that iron globes spun at great velocity 
in the laboratory fail to exhibit magnetic properties. But this can: 
be accounted for on either hypothesis. What we need is a globe of 
great size, which has been rotating for centuries at high velocity. 
The sun, with a diameter 100 times that of the earth (fig. 1), may 


1Address delivered at the semicentennial of the National Academy of Sciences, at 
Washington, D. C., May, 1913. 

2 The author had expected, before reprinting this address, to subject it to a thorough 
revision and to insert the results of recent observations, but he has been prevented by 
illIness from doing so. (Aug. 24, 1914.) 


44863°—sMm 1913 10 145 


146 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


throw some light on the problem. Its high temperature wholly pre- 
cludes the existence of permanent magnets, hence any magnetism it 
may exhibit must be due to motion. Its great mass and rapid linear 
velocity of rotation should produce a magnetic field much stronger 
than that of the earth. Finally, the presence in its atmosphere of 
glowing gases and the well-known effect of magnetism on light 
should enable us to explore its magnetic field even at the distance of 
the earth. The effects of ionization, probably small in the region of 
nigh pressure beneath the photosphere and marked in the solar atmos- 
phere, must be determined and allowed for. But with this important 
limitation the sun may be used by the physicist for an experiment 
which can not be performed in the best equipped laboratory. 
Schuster, in the lecture already cited, remarked: 


The form of the corona suggests a further hypothesis which, extravagant as 
it may appear at present, may yet prove to be true. Is the sun a magnet? 


Summing up the situation in April, 1912, he repeated: 


The evidence (whether the sun is a magnet) rests entirely on the form of 
certain rays of the corona, which—assuming that they indicate the path of pro- 
jecting particles—seem to be deflected as they would be in a magnetic field, but 
this evidence is not at all decisive. 

There remained the possibility of an appeal to a conclusive test 
of magnetism—the characteristic changes it produces in light which 
originates in a magnetic field. 

Before describing how this test has been applied, let us rapidly 
_ recapitulate some of the principal facts of terrestrial magnetism. 
You see upon the screen the image of a steel sphere (fig. 2), which 
has been strongly magnetized. If iron filings are sprinkled over 
the glass plate that supports it, each minute particle becomes a mag- 
net under the influence of the sphere. When the plate is tapped, to 
relieve the friction, the particles fall into place along the lines of 
force, revealing a characteristic pattern of great beauty. A small 
compass needle, moved about the sphere, always turns so as to point 
along the lines of force. At the magnetic poles it points toward 
the center of the sphere. Midway between them, at the equator, it 
is parallel to the diameter joining the poles. 

As the earth is a magnet it should exhibit lines of force resembling 
those of the sphere. If the magnetic poles coincided with the poles 
of rotation, a freely suspended magnetic needle should point ver- 
tically downward at one pole, vertically upward at the other, and 
horizontally at the equator. A dip needle, used to map the lines 
of force of the earth, is shown on the screen. I have chosen for 
illustration an instrument designed for use at sea, on the non- 
magnetic yacht Carnegie, partly because the equipment used by 


volume. 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Hale. PLATE 1. 


Fig. 1.—DIRECT PHOTOGRAPH OF THE SUN WITH DOT ONE MILLIMETER IN DIAMETER 
(NEAR LOWER LEFT CORNER) REPRESENTING THE EARTH FOR COMPARISON. 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Hale. PLATE 2. 


Fla. 2.—LINES OF FORCE OF A MAGNETIZED STEEL SPHERE. 


Fig. 3.—DIRECT PHOTOGRAPH OF PART OF THE SUN, APRIL 30, 1908. 


EARTH AND SUN AS MAGNETS—HALE. 147 


Dr. Bauer in his extensive surveys represents the best now in use, 
and also because I wish to contrast the widely different means em- 
ployed by the Carnegie Institution for the investigation of solar and 
terrestrial magnetic phenomena. The support of the dip needle is 
hung in gimbals, so that observations may be taken when the ship’s 
deck is inclined. The smallest possible amount of metal enters into 
the construction of this vessel, and where its use could not be avoided, 
bronze was employed instead of iron or steel. She is thus admirably 
adapted for magnetic work, as is shown by the observations secured 
on voyages already totaling more than 100,000 miles. Her work 
is supplemented by that of land parties, bearing instruments to re- 
mote regions where magnetic observations have never before been 
made. 

The dip needle clearly shows that the earth is a magnet, for it 
behaves in nearly the same way as the little needle used in our ex- 
periment with the magnetized sphere. But the magnetic poles of 
the earth do not coincide with the geographical poles. The north 
magnetic pole, discovered by Ross and last visited by Amundsen 
in 1903, lies near Baflfins Bay, in latitude 70° north, longitude 
97° west. The position of the south magnetic pole, calculated from 
observations made in its vicinity by Capt. Scott, of glorious memory, 
in his expedition of 1901-1904, is 72° 50’ south latitude, 153° 45’ 
east longitude. Thus the two magnetic poles are not only displaced 
about 30° from the geographical poles; they do not even lie on the 
same diameter of the earth. Moreover, they are not fixed in posi- 
tion, but appear to be rotating about the geographical poles in a 
period of about 900 years. In addition to these peculiarities, it 
must be added that the dip needle shows the existence of local mag- 
netic poles, one of which has recently been found by Dr. Bauer’s 
party at Treadwell Point, Alaska. At such a place the direction of 
the needle undergoes rapid change as it is moved about the local 
pole. 

The dip needle, as we have seen, is free to move in a vertical 
plane. The compass needle moves in a horizontal plane. In general, 
it tends to point toward the magnetic pole, and as this does not 
correspond with the geographical pole, there are not many places on 
the earth’s surface where the needle indicates true north and south. 

_ Local peculiarities, such as deposits of iron ore, also affect its direc- 

_ tion very materially. Thus a variation chart, which indicates the 

- deviation of the compass needle from geographical north, affords an 

excellent illustration of the irregularities of terrestrial magnetism. 

_ The necessity for frequent and accurate surveys of the earth’s mag- 

: netic field is illustrated by the fact that the Carnegie has found errors 
i of 5° or 6° in the variation charts of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. 

In view of the earth’s heterogeneous structure, which is sufficiently 
“strated by its topographical features, marked deviations from the 


SANG s 


148 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


uniform magnetic properties of a magnetized steel sphere are not at 
all surprising. The phenomenon of the secular variation, or the 
rotation of the magnetic poles about the geographical poles, is one 
of the peculiarities toward the solution of which both theory and 
experiment should be directed. 

Passing over other remarkable phenomena of terrestrial mag- 
netism, we come to magnetic storms and auroras, which are almost 
certainly of solar origin. 

Here is a photograph of part of the sun, as it appears in the tele- 
scope (fig.3).1 Scattered over its surface are sun spots, which increase 
and decrease in number in a period of about 11.3 years. It is well 
known that a curve, showing the number of spots on the sun, is closely 
similar to a curve representing the variations of intensity of the 
earth’s magnetism. The time of maximum sun spots corresponds 
with that of reduced intensity of the earth’s magnetism, and the 
parallelism of the two curves is too close to be the result of accident. 
We may therefore conclude that there is some connection between the 
spotted area of the sun and the magnetic field of the earth. 

We shall consider a little later the nature of sun spots, but for the 
present we may regard them simply as solar storms. When spots are 
numerous the entire sun is disturbed, and eruptive phenomena, far 
transcending our most violent volcanic outbursts, are frequently 
visible. In the atmosphere of the sun, gaseous prominences rise to 
great heights. This one, reaching an elevation of 85,000 miles, is 
of the quiescent type, which changes gradually in form and is abun- 
dantly found at all phases of the sun’s activity. But such eruptions 
as the one of March 25, 1895, photographed with the spectrohelio- 
graph of the Kenwood Observatory, are clearly of an explosive na- 
ture. As these photographs show, it shot upward through a distance 
of 146,000 miles in 24 minutes, after which it faded away. 

When great and rapidly changing spots, usually accompanied by 
eruptive prominences, are observed on the sun, brilliant displays of 
the aurora (fig. 6) and violent magnetic storms are often reported. 
The magnetic needle, which would record a smooth straight line on 
the photographic film if it were at rest, trembles and vibrates, draw- 
ing a broken and irregular curve. Simultaneously, the aurora flashes 
and pulsates, sometimes lighting up the northern sky with the most 
brilliant display of red and green discharges. 

Birkeland and Stérmer have worked out a theory which accounts 
in a very satisfactory way for these phenomena. They suppose that 
electrified particles, shot out from the sun with great velocity, are 
drawn in toward the earth’s magnetic poles along the lines of force. 
Striking the rarified gases of the upper atmosphere, they illuminate 


1 Figs. 3, 4, and 5 represent the same region of the sun, photographed at successively 
higher levels. , F 


EARTH AND SUN AS MAGNETS—HALE. 149 


them, just as the electric discharge lights up a vacuum tube. There 
is reason to believe that the highest part of the earth’s atmosphere 
consists of rarified hydrogen, while nitrogen predominates at a 
lower level. Some of the electrons from the sun are absorbed in 
the hydrogen, above a height of 60 miles. Others reach the lower- 
lying nitrogen, and descend to levels from 30 to 40 miles above the 
earth’s surface. Certain still more penetrating rays sometimes reach 
an altitude of 25 miles, the lowest hitherto found for the aurora. 
The passage through the atmosphere of the electrons which cause 
the aurora also gives rise to the irregular disturbances of the mag- 
netic needle observed during magnetic storms. 

The outflow of electrons from the sun never ceases, if we may 
reason from the fact that the night sky is at all times feebly illumi- 
nated by the characteristic light of the aurora. But when sun spots 
are numerous, the discharge of electrons is most violent, thus ex- 
plaining the frequency of brilliant auroras and intense magnetic 
storms during sun-spot maxima. It should be remarked that the 
discharge of electrons does not necessarily occur from the spots 
themselves, but rather from the eruptive regions surrounding them. 

Our acquaintance with vacuum-tube discharges dates from an early 
period, but accurate knowledge of these phenomena may be said to 
begin with the work of Sir William Crookes in 1876. A glass tube, 
fitted with electrodes, and filled with any gas, is exhausted with a 
suitable pump until the pressure within it is very low. When a high- 
voltage discharge is passed through the tube, a stream of negatively 
charged particles is shot out from the cathode, or negative pole, with 
great velocity. These electrons, bombarding the molecules of the 
gas within the tube, produce a brillant illumination, the character of 
which depends upon the nature of the gas. The rare hydrogen gas 
in the upper atmosphere of the earth, when bombarded by electrons 
from the sun, glows like the hydrogen in this tube. Nitrogen, which 
is characteristic of a lower level, shines with the light which can be 
duplicated here. 

But it may be remarked that this explanation of the aurora is 
only hypothetical, in the absence of direct evidence of the emission 
of electrons by the sun. However, we do know that hot bodies emit 
electrons. Here is a carbon filament in an exhausted bulb. When 
heated white hot a stream of electrons passes off. Falling upon this 
electrode the electrons discharge the electroscope with which it is 
connected. Everyone who has to discard old incandescent lamps 
is familiar with the result of this outflow. The blackening of the 
bulbs is due to finely divided carbon carried away by the electrons 
and deposited upon the glass. 

_ Now, we know that great quantities of carbon in a vaporous state 
exist in the sun and that many other substances also present there 


150 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


emit electrons in the same way. Hence we may infer that electrons 
are abundant in the solar atmosphere. 

The temperature of the sun is between 6,000° and 7,000° C., twice 
as high as we can obtain by artificial means. Under solar condi- 
tions, the velocity of the electrons emitted in regions where the pres- 
sure is not too great may be sufficient to carry them to the earth. 
Arrhenius holds that the electrons attach themselves to molecules or 
groups of molecules and are then driven to the earth by lght 
pressure. 

In certain regions of the sun we have strong evidence of the 
existence of free electrons. This leads us to the question of solar 
magnetism and suggests a comparison of the very different condi- 
tions in the sun and earth. Much alike in chemical composition, these 
bodies differ principally in size, in density, and in temperature. The 
diameter of the sun is more than 100 times that of the earth, while 
its density is only one-quarter as great. But the most striking point 
of difference is the high temperature of the sun, which is much 
more than sufficient to vaporize all known substances. This means 
that no permanent magnetism, such as is exhibited by a steel magnet 
or a lodestone, can exist in the sun. For if we bring this steel magnet 
to a red heat it loses its magnetism and drops the iron bar which it 
previously supported. Hence, while some theories attribute ter- 
restrial magnetism -to the presence within the earth of permanent 
magnets, no such theory can apply to the sun. If magnetic phe- 
nomena are to be found there they must result from other causes. 

The familiar case of the helix illustrates how a magnetic field is 
produced by an electric current flowing through a coil of wire. But 
according to the modern theory, an electric current is a stream of 
electrons. Thus a stream of electrons in the sun should give rise to a 
magnetic field. If the electrons were whirled in a powerful vortex, 
resembling our tornadoes or waterspouts, the analogy with the wire 
helix would be exact, and the magnetic field might be sufficiently 
intense to be detected by spectroscopic observations. 

A sun spot, as seen with a telescope or photographed in the ordi- 
nary way, does not appear to be a vortex. If we examine the solar 
atmosphere above and about the spots, we find extensive clouds of 
luminous calcium vapor, invisible to the eye, but easily photographed 
with the spectroheliograph by admitting no lght to the sensitive 
plate except that radiated by calcium vapor. These calcium floceuli 
(fig. 4), like the cumulus clouds of the earth’s atmosphere, exhibit no 
well-defined linear structure. But if we photograph the sun with the 
red light of hydrogen, we find a very different condition of affairs 
(fig. 5). In this higher region of the solar atmosphere, first photo- 
graphed on Mount Wilson in 1908, cyclonic whirls, centering in sun 
spots, are clearly shown. 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Hale. PLATE 3. 


Fic. 4.—SAME REGION OF THE SUN SHOWING THE CALCIUM 
(Hz) FLOCCULI. 


Fig. 5.—SAME REGION OF THE SUN SHOWING THE HYDROGEN 
(Ha) FLoccut. 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Hale. PLATE 4, 


Fic. 6.—THE AURORA. 


Fic. 7.—WATER SPOUT. 


BARTH AND SUN AS MAGNETS—HALR. 151 


The idea that sun spots may be solar tornadoes, which was strongly 
suggested by such photographs, soon received striking confirmation. 
A great cloud of hydrogen, which had hung for several days on the 
edge of one of these vortex structures, was suddenly swept into the 
spot at a velocity of about 60 miles per second. More recently 
Slocum has photographed at the Yerkes Observatory a prominence at 
the edge of the sun, flowing into a spot with a somewhat lower 
velocity. 

Thus we were led to the hypothesis that sun spots are closely 
analogous to tornadoes or waterspouts in the earth’s atmosphere 
(fig. 7). If this were true, electrons caught and whirled in the spot 
vortex should produce a magnetic field. Fortunately, this could be 
put to a conclusive test through the well-known influence of mag- 
netism on light discovered by Zeeman in 1896. 

In Zeeman’s experiment a flame containing sodium vapor was 
placed between the poles of a powerful electromagnet. The two 
yellow sodium lines, observed with a spectroscope of high dispersion, 
were seen to widen the instant a magnetic field was produced by pass- 
ing a current through the coils of the magnet. It was subsequently 
found that most of the lines of the spectrum, which are single 
under ordinary conditions, are split into three components when the 
radiating source is in a sufficiently intense magnetic field. This 
is the case when the observation is made at right angles to the lines 
of force. When looking along the lines of force, the central line 
of such a triplet disappears (fig. 8), and the light of the two side com- 
ponents is found to be circularly polarized in opposite directions. 
With suitable polarizing apparatus, either component of such a line 
can be cut off at will, leaving the other unchanged. Furthermore, a 
double line having these characteristic properties can be produced 
only by a magnetic field. Thus it becomes a simple matter to detect 
a magnetic field at any distance by observing its effect on light 
emitted within the field. If a sun spot is an electric vortex, and the 
observer is supposed to look along the axis of the whirling vapor, 
which would correspond with the direction of the lines of force, he 
should find the spectrum lines double, and be able to cut off either 
component with the palarizing attachment of his spectroscope. 

I applied this test to sun spots on Mount Wilson in June, 1908, 
with the 60-foot tower telescope, and at once found all of the char- 
acteristic features of the Zeeman effect. Most of the lines of the 
sun-spot spectrum are merely widened by the magnetic field, but 
others are split into separate components (fig. 9), which can be 
cut off at will by the observer. Moreover, the opportune formation 
of two large spots, which appeared on the spectroheliograph plates 
to be rotating in opposite directions (fig. 10), permitted a still more 
exacting experiment to be tried. In the laboratory, where the polar- 


152 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


izing apparatus is so adjusted as to transmit one component of a 
tine doubled by a magnetic field, this disappears and is replaced by 
the other component when the direction of the current is reversed. 
In other words, one component is visible alone when the observer 
looks toward the north pole of the magnet, while the other appears 
alone when he looks toward the south pole. If electrons of the same 
kind are rotating in opposite directions in two sun-spot vortexes, the 
observer should be looking toward a north pole in one spot and to- 
ward a south pole in the other. Hence the opposite components of 
a magnetic double line should appear in two such spots. As our 
photographs show, the result of the test was in harmony with my 
anticipation. 

I may not pause to describe the later developments of this investi- 
gation, though two or three points must be mentioned. The intensity 
of the magnetic field in sun spots is sometimes as high as 4,500 
gausses, or 9,000 times the intensity of the earth’s field. In 
passing upward from the sun’s surface the magnetic intensity de- 
creases very rapidly—so rapidly, in fact as to suggest the existence 
of an opposing field. It is probable that the vortex which produces 
the observed field is not the one that appears on our photograph, but 
lies at a lower level. In fact, the vortex structure shown on spectro- 
heliograph plates may represent the effect rather than the cause of 
the sun-spot field. We may have, as Brester and Deslandres suggest, 
a condition analogous to that illustrated in the aurora: Electrons, 
falling in the solar atmosphere, move along the lines of force of the 
magnetic field into spots. In this way we may perhaps account for 
the structure surrounding pairs of spots, of opposite polarity, which 
constitute the typical sun-spot group. The resemblance of the struc- 
ture near these two bipolar groups to the lines of force about a bar 
magnet is very striking, especially when the disturbed condition-of 
the solar atmosphere, which tends to mask the effect, is borne in 
mind. It is not unlikely that the bipolar group is due to a single 
vortex, of the horseshoe type, such as we may see in water after 
every sweep of an oar. 

We thus have abundant evidence of the existence on the sun of 
local magnetic fields of great intensity—fields so extensive that the 
earth is small in comparison with many of them. But how may we 
account for the copious supply of electrons needed to generate the 
powerful currents required in such enormous electromagnets? Neu- 
tral molecules, postulated in theories of the earth’s field, will not 
suffice. A marked preponderance of electrons of one sign is clearly 
indicated. 

An interesting experiment, due to Harker, will help us here. 
Imagine a pair of carbon rods insulated within a furnace heated to 
a temperature of two or three thousand degrees. The outer ends of 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Hale. PLATE 5. 


| 
. 
| 


Fia. 8.—ZEEMAN DOUBLET PHOTOGRAPHED IN LABORATORY SPECTRUM. 


The middle section shows the doublet. The adjacent sections indicate the appearance 
of the spectrum line in the absence of a magnetic field. 


Fia. 9.—a, b, SPECTRA OF TWO SUN SPOTS. 


The triple line indicates a magnetic field of 4,500 
gausses in a and of 2,900 gausses in b. 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Hale. PLATE 6. 


aap r fo om 


Fic. 10.—RIGHT AND LEFT HANDED VORTEXES SURROUNDING SUN 
SPOTS, AS INDICATED BY THE DISTRIBUTION OF HYDROGEN GAS. 


Photographed with the spectroheliograph. 


Fic. 11.—SOLAR CORONA SHOWING POLAR STREAMERS. 


BARTH AND SUN AS MAGNETS—HALRBE. 158 


the rods projecting from the furnace are connected toa galvanometer. 
Harker found that when one of the carbon terminals within the fur- 
nace was cooler than the other a stream of negative electrons flowed 
toward it from the hotter electrode. Even at atmospheric pressure 
currents of several amperes were produced in this way.t 

Our spectroscopic investigations, interpreted by laboratory experi- 
ments, are in harmony with those of Fowler in proving that sun 
spots are comparatively cool regions in the solar atmosphere. They 
are hot enough, it is true, to volatilize such refractory elements as 
titanium, but cool enough to permit the formation of certain com- 
pounds not found elsewhere in the sun. Hence, from Harker’s ex- 
periment, we may expect a flow of negative electrons toward spots. 
These, caught and whirled in the vortex, would easily account for 
the observed magnetic fields. 

The conditions existing in sun spots are thus without any close 
parallel among the natural phenomena of the earth. The sun-spot 
vortex is not unlike a terrestial tornado, on a vast scale, but if the 
whirl of ions in a tornado produces a magnetic field, it is too feeble 
to be readily detected. Thus, while we have demonstrated the ex- 
istence of solar magnetism, it is confined to limited areas. We must 
look further if we would throw new light on the theory of the mag- 
netic properties of rotating bodies. 

This leads us to the question with which we atatteel: Ts the sun 
a magnet, like the earth? The structure of the corona, as revealed at 
total eclipses, points strongly in this direction. Remembering the 
lines of force of our magnetized steel sphere, we can not fail to be 
struck by their close resemblance to the polar streamers in these 
beautiful photographs of the corona (fig. 11) taken by Lick Observa- 
tory eclipse parties, for which I am indebted to Prof. Campbell. 
Bigelow, in 1889, investigated this coronal structure and showed that 
it is very similar to the lines of force of a spherical magnet. Stormer, 
guided by his own researches on the aurora, has calculated the tra- 
jectories of electrons moving out from the sun under the influence 
of a general magnetic field and compared these trajectories with the 
coronal streamers. The resemblance is apparently too close to be the 
result of chance. Finally, Deslandres has investigated the forms and 
motion of solar prominences, which he finds to behave as they would 
in a magnetic field of intensity about one-millionth that of the earth. 
We may thus infer the existence of a general solar magnetic field. 
But since the sign of the charge of the outflowing electrons is not 
certainly known, we can not determine the polarity of the sun in 
this way. Furthermore, our present uncertainty as to the propor- 
tion at different levels of positive and negative electrons and of the 


1 King has recently found that the current decreases very rapidly as the pressure in- 
creases, but is still appreciable at a pressure of 20 atmospheres. 


154 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


perturbations due to currents in the solar atmosphere must delay the 
most effective application of these methods, though they promise 
much future knowledge of the magnetic field at high levels in sa 
solar atmosphere. 

Of the field at low levels, however, they may tell us little or noth- 
ing, for the distribution of the electrons may easily be such as to 
give rise to a field caused by the rotation of the solar atmosphere, 
which may oppose in sign the field due to the rotation of the body of 
the sun. To detect this latter field, the magnetic field of the sun as 
distinguished from that of the sun’s atmosphere, we must resort to 
the method employed in the case of sun spots—the study of the 
Zeeman effect. If this is successful it will not only show beyond 
doubt whether the sun is a magnet; it will also permit the polarity 
of the sun to be compared with that of the earth, gives a measure of 
the strength of the field at different latitudes and indicate the sign 
of the charge that a rotating sphere must possess if it is to produce a 
similar field. 

I first endeavored to apply this test with the 60-foot tower tele- 
scope in 1908, but the results were too uncertain to command con- 
fidence. 

Thanks to additional appropriations from the Carnegie Institute 
of Washington, a new and powerful instrument was available on 
Mount Wilson for a continuation of the investigation in January, 
1912. The new tower telescope has a focal length of 150 feet (fig. 
12). To prevent vibration in the wind, the ccelostat, second mirror, 
and object glass are carried by a skeleton tower, each vertical and 
diagonal member of which is inclosed within the corresponding 
member of an outer skeleton tower, which also carries a dome to 
shield the instruments from the weather. In the photograph we 
see only the hollow members of the outer tower. But within each 
of them, well separated from possible contact, a sectional view would 
show the similar but more slender members of the tower that sup- 
port the instruments. The plan has proved to be successful, per- 
mitting observations demanding the greatest steadiness of the solar 
image to be made. 

The arrangements are similar to those of the 60-foot tower. The 
solar image, 164 inches in diameter, falls on the slit of a spectro- 
graph (fig. 13) in the observation house at the ground level. The 
spectrograph, of 75 feet focal length, enjoys the advantage of great 
stability and constancy of temperature in its subterranean vault 
beneath the tower. In the third order spectrum, used for this in- 
vestigation, the D lines of the solar spectrum are 29 millimeters 
apart. The resolving power of the excellent Michelson grating is 
sufficient to show 75 lines of the iodine absorption spectrum in this 
space between the D’s. Thus the instruments are well suited for 


ws oS ee 


me 
a he 


PLATE 7. 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Hale. 


Foot TOWER TELESCOPE 


2.—150- 


Fia. 1 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Hale. PLATE 8. 


Fic. 13.—HEAD OF THE 75-FOOT SPECTOGRAPH OF THE 150-FootT Tower > 
TELESCOPE. 


Equator. 


He ele 


a ee FEEEHH 


Fig. 14.—THE Curve REPRESENTS THE THEORETICAL VARIATION OF THE DIS- 
PLACEMENTS OF SPECTRUM LINES WITH THE HELIOGRAPHIC LATITUDE. 
The sun is assumed to be a magnetic sphere with its magnetic poles coinciding with the 


poles of rotation. The points represent mean yalues of the observed displacements. 
Vertical scale: 1 square = 0,001 mm. = 0.0002 Angstrém., 


EARTH AND SUN AS MAGNETS—HALE. P55 


the exacting requirements of a difficult investigation. For it must 
be borne in mind that the problem is very different from that of 
detecting the magnetic fields in sun spots, where the separation of 
the lines is from 50 to 100 times as great as we may expect to 
find here. Thus the sun’s general field can produce no actual separa- 
tion of the lines. But it may cause a very slight widening, which 
should appear as a displacement when suitable polarizing apparatus 
is used. This is so arranged as to divide the spectrum longitudi- 
nally into narrow strips. The component toward the red end of 
the spectrum of a line widened by magnetism should appear in one 
strip, the other component in the next strip. Hence, if the sun has 
a magnetic field of sufficient strength, the line should have a dentated 
appearance. The small relative displacements of the lines on suc- 
cessive strips, when measured under a microscope, should give the 
strength of the magnetic field. 

The above remarks apply strictly to the case when the observer is 
looking directly along the lines of force. At other angles neither 
component is completely cut off, and the magnitude of the displace- 
ment will then depend upon two things: The strength of the mag- 
netic field and the angle between the line of sight and the lines of 
force. Assuming that the lines of force of the sun correspond with 
those of a magnetized sphere, and also that the magnetic poles coin- 
cide with the poles of rotation, it is possible to calculate what the 
relative displacement should be at different solar latitudes. These 
theoretical displacements are shown graphically by the sine curve on 
the screen (fig. 14). 

We see from the curve that the greatest displacements should be 
found at 45° north and south latitude, and that from these points 
they should decrease toward zero at the equator and the poles. Fur- 
thermore, the curve shows that we may apply the same crucial test 
used in the case of sun spots; the direction of the displacements, 
toward red or violet, should be reversed in the northern and southern 
hemispheres. 

TI shall not trouble you with the details of the hundreds of photo- 
graphs and the thousands of measures which have been made by my 
colleagues and myself during the past year. In view of the diffuse 
character of the solar lines under such high dispersion and the ex- 
ceedingly small displacements observed, the results must be given 
with some reserve, though they appear to leave no doubt as to the 
reality of the effect. Observations in the second order spectrum 
failed to give satisfactory indications of the field. But with the 
higher dispersion of the third order 11 independent determinations, 
made with every possible precaution to eliminate bias, show opposite 
displacements in the northern and southern hemispheres decreasing 
in magnitude from about 45° north and south latitude to the equator. 


156 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


Three of these determinations were pushed as close to the poles as 
conditions would permit, and the observed displacements may be 
compared with the theoretical curve (fig. 14). In view of the very 
small magnitude of the displacements, which never surpass 0.002 
Angstroms, the agreement is quite as satisfactory as one could expect 
for a first approximation. 

The full details of the investigation are given in a paper recently 
published.t| The reader will find an account of the precautions taken 
to eliminate error, and, I trust, no tendency to underestimate the 
possible adverse bearing of certain negative results. It must remain 
for the future to confirm or to overthrow.the apparently strong 
evidence in favor of the existence of a true Zeeman effect, due to the 
general magnetic field of the sun. If this evidence can be accepted, 
we may draw certain conclusions of present interest. 

Taking the measures at their face value, they indicate that the 
north magnetic pole of the sun les at or near the north pole of rota- 
tion, while the south magnetic pole les at or near the south pole of 
rotation. In other words, if a compass needle could withstand the 
solar temperature, it would point approximately as it does on the 
earth, since the polarity of the two bodies appears to be the same. 
Thus, since the earth and sun rotate in the same direction, a negative 
charge distributed through their mass would account in each case 
for the observed magnetic polarity. 

As for the strength of the sun’s field, only three preliminary deter- 
minations have yet been made, with as many different lines. Disre- 
garding the systematic error of measurement, which is still very 
uncertain, these indicate that the field strength at the sun’s poles is 
of the order of 50 gausses (about 80 times that of the earth). 

Schuster, assuming the magnetic fields of the earth and sun to be 
due to their rotation, found that the strength of the sun’s field should 
be 440 times that of the earth, or 264 gausses. This was on the sup- 
position that the field strength of a rotating body is proportional to 
the product of the radius and the maximum linear velocity of rota- 
tion, but neglected the density. Before inquiring why the observed 
and theoretical values differ, we may glance at the two most prom- 
ising hypotheses that have been advanced in support of the view 
that every large rotating body is a magnet. 

On account of their greater mass, the positive electrons of the 
neutral molecules within the earth may perhaps be more powerfully 
attracted by gravitation than the negative electrons. In this case 
the negative charge of each molecule should be a little farther from 
the center of the earth than the positive charge. The average linear 
velocity of the negative charge would thus be a little greater, and 
the magnetizing effect due to its motion would slightly exceed that 


1Contributions from the Mount Wilson Solar Observatory, No. 71. 


EARTH AND SUN AS MAGNETS—HALE. £57 


due to the motion of the positive charge. By assuming a separation 
of the charges equal to about four-tenths the radius of a molecule 
(Bauer), the symmetrical part of the earth’s magnetic field could 
be accounted for as the result of the axial rotation. 

This theory, first suggested by Thomson, has been developed by 
Sutherland, Schuster, and Bauer. But as yet it has yielded no ex- 
planation of the secular variation of the earth’s magnetism, and the 
merits of other theories must not be overlooked. 

Chief among these is the theory that rests on the very probable 
assumption that every molecule is a magnet. If the magnetism is 
accounted for as the effect of the rapid revolution of electrons within 
the molecule, a gyrostatic action might be anticipated. That is, each 
molecule would tend to set itself with its axis parallel to the axis of 
the earth, just as the gyrostatic compass, now coming into use at sea, 
tends to point to the geographical pole. The host of molecular mag- 
nets, all acting together, might account for the earth’s magnetic field. 

This theory, in its turn, is not free from obvious points of weak- 
ness, though they may disappear as the result of more extended in- 
vestigation. Its chief advantage lies in the possibility that it may 
explain the secular variation of the earth’s magnetism by a preces- 
sional motion of the magnetic molecules. 

On either hypothesis, it is assumed, in the absence of knowledge 
to the contrary, that every molecule contributes to the production of 
the magnetic field. Thus the density of the rotating body may prove 
to be a factor. Perhaps the change of density from the surface to the 
center of the sun must also be taken into account. But the observa- 
tional results already obtained suggest that the phenomena of ioniza- 
tion in the solar atmosphere may turn out to be the predominant in- 
fluence. 

The lines which show the Zeeman effect originate at a compara- 
tively low level in the solar atmosphere. Preliminary measures indi- 
cate that certain lines of titanium, which are widely separated by a 
magnetic field in the laboratory, are not appreciably affected in the 
sun. As these lines represent a somewhat higher level, it is probable 
that the strength of the sun’s field decreases very rapidly in passing 
upward from the surface of the photosphere—a conclusion in har- 
mony with results obtained from the study of the corona and prom- 
inences. Thus it may be found that the distribution of the electrons 
is such as to give rise to the observed field or to produce a field oppos- 
ing that caused by the rotation of the body of the sun. It is evident 
that speculation along these lines may advantageously await the ac- 
cumulation of observations covering a wide range of level. Beneath 
the photosphere, where the pressure is high, we may conclude from 
recent electric furnace experiments by King that free electrons, 
though relatively few, may nevertheless play some part in the pro- 
duction of the general magnetic field. 


158 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


In this survey of magnetic phenomena we have kept constantly in 
mind the hypothesis that the magnetism of the earth is due to its 
rotation. Permanent magnets, formerly supposed to account for 
the earth’s magnetic field, could not exist at the high temperature 
of the sun. Displays of the aurora, usually accompanied by mag- 
netic storms, are plausibly attributed to electrons reaching the earth 
from the sun, and illuminating the rare gases of the upper atmos- 
phere just as they affect those in a vacuum tube. Definite proof of 
the existence of free electrons in the sun is afforded by the discovery 
of powerful local magnetic fields in sun spots, where the magnetic 
intensity is sometimes as great as nine thousand times that of the 
earth’s field. These local fields probably result from the rapid revo- 
lution in a vortex of negative electrons, flowing toward the cooler 
spot from the hotter region outside. The same method of observa- 
tion now indicates that the whole sun is a magnet, of the same 
polarity as the earth. Because of the high solar temperature, this 
magnetism may be ascribed to the sun’s axial rotation. It is not 
improbable that the earth’s magnetism also results from its rotation, 
and that other rotating celestial bodies, such as stars and nebule, 
may ultimately be found to possess magnetic properties. Thus, while 
the presence of free electrons in the sun prevents our acceptance of 
the evidence as a proof that every large rotating body is a magnet, 
the results of the investigation are not opposed to this hypothesis, 
which may be tested further by the study of other stars of known 
diameter and velocity of rotation. 


numberless local magnetic fields, caused by electric vortices in the solar “ pores,’’ though 
at first sight improbable, deserves further consideration. 


THE REACTION OF THE PLANETS UPON THE SUN.' 


By P. Pursrux,’ 
Member of the Institute, Astronomer at the Paris Observatory. 


The popular preconception that the earth, with the sun rotating 
about it, was the center of the universe, was overcome only through 
the persistent efforts of astronomers and physicists. We will not 
here review these memorable discussions, but will note merely the 
result. Everyone capable of connected and geometrical reasoning 
will become convinced that the position of the earth, face to face 
with the sun, is that of a humble satellite, and that our globe, forced 
to escort our daytime star in its mysterious course through space, 
receives from this star its law of annual movement and at the same 
time its indispensable ration of heat and light. 

Going from one extreme to another, the sun was believed to be _ 
independent of the relatively minute planets which it carries along 
with itself. It seemed that a fictitious observer, placed at its center 
or on its surface, would have no occasion to suspect the existence of 
other celestial bodies. Further protected against any perceptible 
action from the stars by their immense distance, the sun must lavish 
its splendor, with no pay in return, and follow unperturbed its 
undeviated path through space. 


THE INFLUENCE OF THE PLANETS ON THE MOTION OF THE SUN. 


This conclusion was in some respects too radical. An account of 
this matter could be rendered only when the penetrating genius of 
Newton showed that the curved trajectory of a projectile, the revo- 
lution of the moon about the earth, and the revolution of the earth 
around the sun were three manifestations of the same law. This 
law holds everywhere. Further, it is not a special privilege of the 
center of any system. The bond exists, real though slight, between 
any two particles whatever. The sun, as well as the humblest 
_ planet, because of this bond, must undergo periodic variations in its 
speed as well as in its shape. 


1 Lecture delivered at the Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers, Feb. 23, 1913. 
2 Translated by permission from Revue Scientifique, Paris, May 3, 1913. 


159 


160 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913, 


Have we to-day at our disposal sufficiently delicate means of obser- 
vations to detect these changes? In Newton’s time such means were 
probably lacking. The caprices of our atmosphere furnished a ready 
explanation of the apparent fluctuations in solar radiation. The 
spots had been observed on the sun’s disk, sometimes few, sometimes 
many, but no law had been assigned to them. Further, the tradi- 
tional fixity of the constellations led to the belief that the sun main- 
tained a complete immobility with reference to the stars. 

But the problem plainly stated aroused new attempts at its un- 
raveling. Bradley, a fellow countryman and a disciple of Newton, 
showed that much greater precision could be obtained in the measures 
of the angular distances of the stars than had before been gained. 
Less than a century later, W. Herschel could affirm that the con- 
stellations do alter their form, and the best determination of these 
changes may be explained by attributing to the solar system a regular 
rectilinear motion. The ambition of astronomers, increasing with 
success, tries to-day to show that this movement is not rigorously 
uniform, and even though shielded from the action of the stars, pays 
tribute to the universal attraction in periodic oscillations. 

It is pretty safe to predict what will be the most marked of these 
oscillations. It is not the center of the sun itself which possesses 
the uniform rectilinear motion, but the center of gravity of the 
system formed by the sun and all the planets. The oscillation would 
be small if only the earth need be considered. There is, however, a 
giant planet, Jupiter, whose mass exceeds that of all of the other 
planets taken together and is nearly one one-thousandth that of the 
sun. Describing its orbit at the rate of 12 kilometers per second, 
Jupiter forces the sun to rotate about an imaginary center with a 
velocity a thousand times less. This is apparently a very small 
amount, but not at all negligible with respect to the velocity of 
translation of the solar system, which is 20 kilometers per second. 
Consequently the speed of the solar system toward a point in the 
constellation Hercules is sometimes accelerated, sometimes slowed, 
by one part in one thousand in an interval of six years. 

Very few of the stars are near enough to us for the parallactic dis- 
placement relative to the more distant stars and due to this motion 
of the sun to be appreciable in six years. Consequently, to measure 
one one-thousandth part of this displacement is beyond the resources 
of precise astronomy. We may be pretty sure, though, that some 
day we will thus obtain, at the same time with a measure of the 
mass of Jupiter, a new confirmation of the principle of the universal 
attraction of gravitation. 

Meanwhile help comes in another way. What the micrometer for 
a long time will probably be unable to give, the spectroscope is al- 
ready furnishing. Although the variation of 30 meters per second, 


REACTION OF PLANETS UPON SUN—PUISEUX. 161 


which we wish to detect in the motion of the sun, requires years to 
change sensibly the apparent position of a star, it takes only a moment 
to alter the quality of its light. Whatever the distance, the light 
waves will come to us sometimes more frequently, sometimes less; their 
path through a prism will consequently be found altered and the 
fine metallic lines of the spectrum recorded by a photograph will be 
displaced relatively to those of a stationary source, such as an elec- 
tric spark used for comparison. 

The earliest happy applications of this principle were due to Hug- 
gins and to Vogel. It was used to separate numerous double stars 
composed of pairs of suns so close to each other and so distant from 
us that each pair appeared as a single star. But the brightness of 
each was sufficient to record a spectrum and the relative velocities 
were sufficiently variable so that two spectrum lines of the same 
chemical origin separated periodically. Subsequently another class, 
yet greater in number, was found in which the spectrum lines were 
not doubled, but showed a periodic oscillation. In this case we may 
suppose that one of the two stars, while not bright enough to reg- 
ister its spectrum, is yet heavy enough to sway its associate. The 
period is usually several weeks or days. The displacements of the 
lines correspond to velocities of the same order as those of the 
planets, from 10 to 100 kilometers per second. Because of the ex- 
treme accuracy and care in the use of spectroscopes, certain as- 
tronomers can now measure velocities to a fraction of a kilometer. 

The time will come when pairs like the sun and Jupiter can be 
detected, however distant they may be, provided only that the prin- 
cipal star is bright enough to record its spectrum. Campbell, who 
is the leader in this class of research, estimates that on the average 
one star in three will be found spectroscopically double. It is very 
probable that even more stars art double since we can see no reason 
why a planet like Jupiter should be exceptional. We may predict 
that all stellar spectra will be found thus variable even after cor- 
recting for the orbital movement of the earth. We may then gather 
photographic evidence of the existence of planets about the stars as 
well as the periodic oscillation of our sun due to Jupiter. The earth 
of course will produce a similar effect only less in amplitude and 
period. But who would dare to put a limit to the skill of our opti- 
cians or the patience of our astronomers in a path so definitely 
marked out? 


THE PLANETS AS THE CAUSE OF THE SOLAR CYCLE. 


To find that we disturb the sun is of course something to elate us. 
We will feel perhaps a more tangible satisfaction if we can find 
that we cause changes in the aspect of its surface, disturbances visi- 
ble by direct and not indirect evidence in the field of the microscope. 

44863°—sm 1913——11 


. 162 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


We will now consider a deforming action dependent also on 
Newton’s law but of a differential nature and consequently propor- 
tional to the inverse cube instead of the inverse square of the distance. 
This difference helps to compensate for the inferiority of the mass 
of the earth with reference to the greater planets and gives it a chance 
for an honorable rank in this contest. 

We have under our eyes an encouraging phenomenon. The attrac- 
tion at the surface of the earth due to the sun is but a small fraction 
compared to the weight of a body here, and the yet feebler attraction 
due to the moon can not lighten a body by one one-hundred thou- 
sandth part of its weight. Yet we see the moon exerting this power 
and indeed with three times more strength than is felt from the sun, in 
deforming our globe. This action can be detected upon the atmos- 
phere, the oceans, and even the solid crust of the earth. The seas, 
however, are what render it most evident to our eyes. Under favor- 
able conditions, for instance, in the Bay of Mount St. Michel, on the 
French coast, we see the sea following faithfully the passage of the 
moon across the meridan. The sea’s level changes at the flood some 
20 meters in a few hours, displacing the shoreline several kilometers. 
The work thus developed, if we could only put it to use economically, 
would be enough to render useless all our oil wells and all the engines 
in the world. 

We may find that no planet is as favorably situated to trouble the 
sun as the moon is the earth. But perhaps we should not be so ex- 
acting. We see upon the sun no such liquid seas which might be 
made to extend or contract their domains. The weight there to be 
conquered is great, 27 times greater than here. Despite that, we 
see chances that the sun may react as actively, or even more actively, 
than the earth, under the action of a distant body. ‘We are indeed 
led by several converging paths of reasoning to think that the sur- 
face layers of the sun are to a great depth formed of extremely tenu- 
ous mobile matter, little subject to the action of weight and all 
ready, consequently, to obey the least force. 

A first piece of evidence along this line is the development of spots, 
rents which seem to appear in the luminous veil of the solar surface, 
reaching in a few days an extent of ten, twenty, or thirty thousand 
kilometers and disappearing with equal rapidity. In the spectrum 
of these spots there is an increase in the number and intensity of the 
absorption bands, leading us to think that various metallic molecules 
of considerable atomic weight are spouted out in torrents, carried 
along by currents of the lighter hydrogen. 

More impressive yet is the appearance of protuberances—clouds 
which develop and remain at heights where they could not be sus- 
tained by the dense and refringent atmosphere. Much less bright 


REACTION OF PLANETS UPON SUN—PUISEUX. 163 


than the disk, they have a special spectrum and during total eclipses 
are the principal source of light. We can now photograph them at 
any time about the edge of the disk by an ingenious method devised 
in 1868 by Janssen and by Lockyer and since singularly perfected. 
On many occasions we have been assured by incontestable evidence 
that protuberances can mount in a few hours in the form of vertical 
jets, narrow at the base to prodigious heights—50,000 to 100,000 
kilometers or even more. Generally, however, before attaining such 
heights the protuberances expand into sheaves or stratified layers. 
At times they seem to be the seat of violent explosions, are scattered, 
and disappear very quickly. The spectroscope shows us that cal- 
cium vapor, despite its atomic weight 40 times heavier than that of 
hydrogen, rises very high in the protuberances. The displacements 
of the spectrum lines also furnish confirmation of the enormous 
velocities (100 kilometers or more per second) which the deforma- 
tions of the contours suggest. 

Total eclipses, during which protuberances first attracted atten- 
tion, are even now the only occasions when we can see another inter- 
esting phase of solar activity—the solar corona. Sometimes it 
appears as a halo somewhat equally distributed around the disk, at 
other times as gigantic streamers stretching out distances several 
times the diameter of the sun. The forms of these rays indicate that 
the matter of which they are composed shows no haste in falling 
back into the sun. This matter is evidently very sparse and has very 
Little absorptive action on light, for, despite its irregular distribution, 
it causes no difference in the appearance of the various parts of the 
disk. Its mobility must be very great since in the interval of two 
or three years between eclipses its structure completely changes, as 
our photographs assure us. 

Spots, protuberances, and corona are subject to a great variation 
which takes place regularly about nine times in a century. After a 
period when the sun’s disk appears entirely immaculate, spots re- 
appear in both hemispheres at latitudes from 20° to 30°, then, always 
increasing, they invade the equatorial regions, becoming at the max- 
imum 20 times more numerous on the average than in a minimum 
year. Then, as the decline commences, the numerical predominance, 
which the Northern Hemisphere at first seemed to show, passes to the 
Southern Hemisphere. The spots first disappear in the high lati- 
tudes and then diminish all over the sun. 

The protuberances pass through a similar cycle, except that dur- 
ing the period while their number increases their mean latitude tends 
_to increase in each hemisphere. Toward the epoch of spot maximum, 
and only then, it is not rare to see great protuberances even near the 
poles, where spots never appear. 


164 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


The corona during the same period always undergoes a definite 
evolution. Toward the epoch of sun-spot minimum the polar rays 
are fine and vertical like the bristles of a brush. The jets in the mid- 
dle and mean latitudes are much longer and bent toward the Equator. 
At the maximum period there is little difference with the latitude. 
During the transition years the poles and the Equator are almost 
clear and the rays are developed only in the middle latitudes, giving 
the whole a rectangular appearance. 

The more we reflect upon these facts the less are we led to regard 
the sun as a monarch, inaccessible, and shut up in a tower of ivory. 
It, like the earth, must have seasons connected with the revolution of 
the planets and tides connected with its own rotation. To sift out at 
least the more active of these external influences is a legitimate task, 

even though it is not an easy one. 

' First, do we find one or several bodies which could be held responsi- 
ble for a cycle of 11 years? The stars seem to be beyond considera- 
tion, since in that period there is no appreciable change in their 
linear or angular distances. 

We could, as did John Herschel, blame one or several swarms of 
meteors, imagined for the purpose. Describing very eccentric orbits, 
they might graze the surface of the sun, causing the spots. Suitably 
choosing their revolution periods, inclinations, eccentricities, and the 
distribution of the matter in their orbits, we could explain the 
phenomenon in all its details. We must confess that the permanence 
of swarms of meteors put every 11 years to such a violent test does not 
seem probable. There is no doubt that meteors fall into the sun in 
great numbers. But we have no direct proof that this happens 
periodically and so as to produce visible effects. Such proof we feel 
that we must demand for this very supple and convenient hypothesis. 
As these swarms have not been detected, we must leave them and 
direct our investigations to the planets. 

The most important of these planets brings a coincidence at first 
sight very seductive. Nearly every 11 years Jupiter, in a determinate 
sense, crosses the plane of the solar equator; also in every 11 years 
the numerical predominance of the spots passes from the northern 
to the southern hemisphere of the sun. The same interval separates 
the return of Jupiter to its least distance from the sun and the return 
of the sun-spot numbers to their extreme value. 

We must not hurry, though, to sing our victory. It is not an 
approximate concordance but a precise one which we should demand. 
The periods in years are 11.86 for the revolution of Jupiter and 
11.13 for the sun-spot cycle. For the second period, which is less 
well defined, the incertitude is in the hundredths. For more than a 
century we have careful records of spot numbers which reappear 
regularly. Now, in the course of a century the difference of eight 


REACTION OF PLANETS UPON SUN—PUISEUX. 165 


months between the periods brings them from complete coincidence 
to an absolute discordance. What now remains of our hoped-for 
proof if the nearest approach of the planet must sometimes condition 
an increase of spots, sometimes their disappearance? 

We may suppose that Jupiter’s action, though preponderant, is 
modified by a somewhat slower disturbing force which increases the 
interval between successive maxima. But the statistics of the num- 
ber and extent of the spots, analyzed with the view of finding such 
a force, assigns to it such a long period that we have no clue as to 
its origin. A priori the most probable disturbing body would seem 
to be Saturn. It must act in the same sense as Jupiter, although to 
less extent. The spot maxima or minima should be particularly pro- 
nounced when the two planets are in conjunction with the sun—that 
is, every 20 years. Here again the evidence is negative. 

We get an even less favorable answer from the rest of the planets. 
Hither their, revolution periods are too short to render an account 
of an 11-year fluctuation or their distances too great for their action 
to be sensible compared with that of Jupiter. 


THE PLANETS AS A DISTURBING ELEMENT IN THE SOLAR CYCLE. 


No planet, then, or combination of planets seems to be the princi- 
pal cause of the solar cycle. We may, however, suppose that this 
or that planet may for a brief time trouble the cycle by rendering 
the distribution of spots irregular in longitude. 

The sun rotates with reference to the fixed stars once in 25 days. 
The planets revolve about it in the same direction, but more slowly. 
Therefore, to an observer on the sun, the successive passages of a 
planet over his meridian occur in periods somewhat longer than 25 
days, tending to approach this (sideral revolution) as the planet’s 
distance increases. This is called the synodical rotation. That cor- 
responding to the transit of the earth is 27.35 days. 

Considering now the extreme mobility of the solar surface, we will 
see whether each planet does not produce a tidal wave which passes 
over the sun’s surface with the corresponding synodical rotation 
period and capable of producing visible disturbances. 

According to the elementary law of Newton, the relative impor- 
tance of the tidal waves for the various planets is given by what we 
may call the deforming factor, the product of the mass by the inverse 
cube of the distance. If we make the value of this factor unity for 
the earth, the mean values for the planets are as follows: 


oe STENT ly UE LN Ere ae 1.04 | J upiter Bs Ws ot a 2. 20 
RSet ee ree Seo Satyr ws) lee een . 106 
Fs Ui olla STL i ge A aa TEOO | MUTATE A a 7S ts . 019 


ES ONC aoe ee Eee HOS) PaNemtune tec se) at be et, . 001 


166 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


We see that the most active cause for a tidal wave lies in Jupiter, 
followed closely by Venus. Mercury and the earth come next, the 
remaining planets being much less active. 

Although the earth comes only in the fourth rank, we will con- 
sider it first because we are better situated for examining its effects. 
At each instant we can consider the sun as divided into two equal 
hemispheres, one visible, the other not. The limiting meridians turn 
uniformly over the surface of the sun in 27.35 days, the synodical 
period. 

Let us first suppose that the earth has no physical influence on the 
development of the spots. The ratio between the total sun-spot 
areas in the two hemispheres may happen to have any value what- 
ever; but the mean value taken over a long period of time embrac- 
ing many synodical rotations, say for a whole solar-spot cycle, should 
differ very little from unity. 

We can not at any given moment count or measure the spots on 
the invisible hemisphere. But we can count the spots which appear 
on the eastern border and compare these with those which disap- 
pear in the corresponding time limit at the western border. The ratio 
of the two numbers would have a tendency to surpass unity if it is 
at a time of decrease in spots and to be less than unity if in the in- 
creasing phase. But taken over a whole cycle, the mean value should 
differ very little from unity. 

Now, let us suppose that the earth does have a physical influence, 
for instance, to fix our attention, that the presence of the earth above 
the horizon of some point on the sun favors the development of a 
spot at that point. As this development is certainly not instanta- 
neous, any more than is its disappearance, more spots will be born in 
the visible hemisphere than in the opposite one. Consequently, more 
spots will disappear over the western border than appear at the 
eastern. The inverse inequality will be observed, provided we observe 
over a sufficiently long period, if the presence of the earth causes the 
disappearance of spots. 

Instead of comparing the eastern with the western border we could 
compare the two halves of the visible disk, the right with the left, 
and the result would be equally decisive. Practically, if the action 
of the earth on the solar surface is real, the action will necessarily 
take a certain time to become manifest. Considerable masses must 
be moved, masses doubtless subject to interior friction. It is so rela- 
tive to terrestrial tides which at any point of the earth suffer a 
variable retardation, but always very marked with reference to the 
passage of the moon over the meridian. If the earth has no influence, 
the two halves—the right and left—would, if considered over a sufii- 
cient time, show the same number and same area of spots. If the 
earth has a real influence there will be found a persistent and sys- 
tematic mequality. 


REACTION OF PLANETS UPON SUN—PUISEUX. 167 
RESEARCHES OF MRS. MAUNDER, 1907. 


Mrs. Maunder undertook to answer this question, utilizing the 
photographs due to a cooperation of English observatories for the 
interval 1889 to 1901, extending from one spot minimum to the next. 
At the beginning and the end the sun seemed absolutely free from 
spots. In every instance the rare survivors which could be found at 
the beginning and the end of the period upon the visible hemisphere 
could not vitiate the conclusions derived from all the observations. 

The tables obtained at Greenwich comprised— 

(1) The positions and areas of the groups for each day. 

(2) The history, day by day, of each important group; the areas 
are expressed in millionths of the visible hemisphere and are cor- 
rected for the effect of perspective; the mean duration of a group is 
about six days; 2,870 groups were studied. 

Mrs. Maunder divided the visible hemisphere at each instant into 
14 vertical zones, each 13.2° wide and numbered in the inverse order 
of their appearance. For each zone and the entire period the sum 
representing the area of the spots was made. These results were com- 
pared for zones symmetrical to the central meridian. There was thus 
made manifest a systematic variation from two points of view: 

(1) Despite the perspective correction, there was a constant pro- 
gression on each side in passing from the limb to the central zone, as 
if the perspective correction had been insufficient. 

(2) For each pair of zones there was a constant decrease in passing 
from the eastern to the corresponding western zone. The same thing 
was noted when in a similar manner the northern and southern hem- 
ispheres were treated separately. 

Various reasons make the measures on the extreme zones less trust- 
worthy, but even if we omit them the same conclusions result. If 
refraction in the solar atmosphere plays a part it would unduly en- 
rich the extreme zones. Accordingly, if a correction is made for it, 
it but increases the first anomaly. Neither anomaly can be due to 
errors of observation or reduction. 

If we do not like this process of treatment we need not depend 
upon the areas of the spots but count simply the number of groups 
visible in each zone, omitting those of long life which necessarily 
appear in both halves. Here again, for all pairs of zones, the eastern 
one shows a greater number than its corresponding western one. 

We next ask whether there is, either in the visible or in the invis- 
ible half, an habitual and systematic excess in the number of spot 
births over deaths. A priori, it seems as if it must be so for one or 
the other hemisphere during the phase of increasing spots, but that 
an equilibrium must be established when a complete cycle is con- 
sidered. 


a) 


ae 


168 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


To throw light on this point Mrs. Maunder associated on each 
half of the disk the two extreme zones and compared the number of 
groups of spots which had been seen in each of the two double zones. 
The predominance was clearly in the eastern pair. There are 
throughout a cycle more spots seen near the eastern border, and 
consequently for the whole visible hemisphere and whole cycle there 
is an excess of disappearances over appearances of spots. The oppo- 
site must hold on the invisible hemisphere, since at the beginning 
and end of a cycle the sun is entirely free from spots. 

Neglecting the extreme zones, where the disappearances may be 
more subject to error, there was obtained for each zone the number 
of spots which were seen in it for the first time and the number seen 
in it for the last time. The following result was noted: 

As we go from east to west, crossing the visible hemisphere, there 
is an almost constant diminution in the number of spot appearances 
over a whole spot cycle and as nearly constant and even greater aug- 
mentation in the number of disappearances. 

When we compare two symmetrical regions of the disk, the number 
of births found in one is generally smaller than the number of dis- 
appearances in the corresponding region on the other side of the cen- 
tral meridian. 

If we were dealing only with numbers, the departures noted might 
be considered as resulting from a psychological cause. It is probable 
that there is in an observer a certain, perhaps unconscious, laziness 
which keeps him from recording new appearances and prolonging 
old spots unless absolutely necessary. It is always more agreeable 
to register a disappearance which simplifies work rather an appear- 
ance which augments it. 

Thus, when a new small spot appears for the first time, there is 
a tendency to include it among those already noted rather than to 
regard it as an advance guard or germ of a new group. If the first 
impression is wrong, then there results an unjustified diminution of 
births in the visible hemisphere. 

In a similar manner, if a small group approaches a more important 
group, either by expansion or derivation, there will be a tendency 
not to consider it separately and to cease counting it as soon as the 
separation between it and the larger group ceases to be distinct. We 
are thus led to credit fictitious disappearances to the visible hemi- 
sphere. 

Both these considerations lead us to record more disappearances 
than births. But these errors in counting do not explain why the 
total area of spots is regularly found greater in the eastern half of 
the visible disk. Considering all of Mrs. Maunder’s results we are 
led to think that the presence of the earth above the horizon of a 
place on the sun tends to make spots there disappear. 


REACTION OF PLANETS UPON SUN—PUISEUX. 169 
CHECK METHODS. 


This result is in a way too beautiful. We had hoped to find only 
a small influence and we find one so decided that there is little room 
left for the other planets. Accordingly, search has been justly made 
for other proofs. We may, for instance, compare— 

(1) Only the areas, in the east and west halves, of the groups of 
long life which have been completely followed across the disk. Here, 
again, without exception, for all symmetrical pairs of zones, the ad- 
vantage remains with the eastern half of the disk. 

(2) We may retain only the groups of long life seen in more than 
two successive rotations, neglecting the first and last appearances, 
keeping only the intermediate appearances. It is evident that in 
this way no appearance can be omitted or fictitious disappearance be 
registered. Despite these safeguards, the eastern portion still re- 
tains its advantage in the proportion of 19 parts in 100. 

(3) We may substitute for the spot statistics those obtained from 
the protuberances observed on the east and west limbs and see if 
the protuberances show the same inequalities in activity as do the 
spots at the limb zones. 

The protuberances, we have seen, follow more or less closely the 
solar cycle in their development. But the method of observation for 
the protuberances is quite different than for the spots. Mrs. Maunder 
found no sufficiently complete and homogeneous series of observations 
of the protuberances for the interval 1889 to 1901, which her spot 
statistics covered. The studies of Ricco at Catania, however, cover 
well the interval between the last two spot maxima. Diagrams made 
from this data show that from 1892 to 1900, during the decrease in 
spot numbers, the eastern limb had on the average more protuber- 
ances than the western limb. The opposite condition held from 1900 
to 1904, but after the spot maximum was reached in 1905 the eastern 
limb again regained its ascendancy. On the average, the eastern 
limb maintained a superiority of 1 to 20, less constant and less marked 
than in the case of the spots, but in the same sense. 

Deslandres has recently pointed out a circumstance which may ren- 
der the protuberances more easily visible on the east than on the 
west border. The sun, which we have reason to believe is electrified 
at its surface, must by its rotation create a magnetic field. The very 
mobile protuberances would be disturbed by this field so as to be 
bent at their upper part in the direction of the rotation. An observer 
would then not be in an impartial position relative to the two limbs 
of the sun. He will see better the oncoming protuberances which 

would be bent toward him than the disappearing ones which would 
be bent away. This hypothesis seems to be confirmed by the deforma- 
tions and velocities of the protuberances. 


170 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


A similar explanation is not so easy in the case of the spots. In 


order that they may be more easily visible on the eastern than on 
the western limb, we may suppose that they are followed, but not 
preceded, in their general rotation by some kind of a cloud. Each 
spot would then have its cloud, allowing the spot to be seen as it 
approached but hid more and more as it departed. 

This explanation is not very convincing. In order that the cloud 
have an appreciable effect upon a great spot it would have to be 
at quite an elevation, and it is difficult to see how it would escape 
observation at the border of the sun. Its influence would not be 
felt except toward the ends of the spot’s transit, and we have seen 
that the inequalities are noted in the same sense in all pairs of sym- 
metrical zones. 

(4) There remains one more test which we must not neglect. We 
could not pretend that the earth alone has such an influence upon the 
sun. If it is effective, then the other planets must be; and there are 
apparently three, Jupiter, Mercury, and Venus, which should be 
even more effective. How can we assure ourselves in this matter ? 


RESEARCHES OF THE KEW OBSERVERS. 


The problem had already been attacked long ago by De la Rue, 
Balfour Stewart, Benjamin Loewy, astronomers at the Kew Observa- 
tory. (Proc. Roy. Soc., p. 210, 1872.) As the observations never 
related to but a half of the sun at a time, it was considered neces- 
sary at the start to determine and try to eliminate the influence 
which the position of the observer on the earth might have. 
The two following conclusions resulted from the preliminary 
examination: 

(az) Upon the hemisphere visible from the earth the mean area 
occupied by the spots increases as the distance on either side of the 
central meridian increases. 

(6) The spotted surface on the average is greater on the western 
than on the eastern half of the visible disk. 

The second conclusion of the Kew observers is at variance with 
that of the more recent investigators. However, the years examined 
in the two cases have no part in common. The data used by Mrs. 
Maunder was so much more homogeneous and abundant that her 
conclusions should have greater weight. 

Having completed their first examination, the Kew observers con- 
sidered how to correct their data for the position of the observer. 
They could then, for any planet whatever, P, compare the hemisphere 
turned toward the planet P with that turned away. Relative to the 
circle limiting these two hemispheres, any other planet, P’, could 
have any possible position in its orbit. It seemed right to admit 
that, if the interval considered be long enough, the effect of P’ would 


ge 


oe ee ee, 


REACTION OF PLANETS UPON SUN—PUISEUX, 17 La 
my 


be eliminated and the effect of P would become evident by comparing 
the conditions on the two hemispheres. 

It was found thus that the spotted areas tend to increase opposite 
to Mercury and Venus. Jupiter, upon which the greatest hope was 
placed, gave no definite result. 

The work of the Kew observers has been rather severely criticized. 
The interval used seems too short for assuring the proper compensa- 
tions, and the gaps in the data are considerable. The choice of the 
material selected has not always seemed justified. ; 


RESEARCHES OF SCHUSTER. 


In a recent memoir (Proc. Roy. Soc. 85A, p. 309, 1911) A. Schuster 
considered it advisable again to take up this problem, using the 
Greenwich photographs for the years 1874 to 1909. He considered 
only the births of spots lasting over the interval between the plates 
of two successive days. He excluded, as more subject to error, those 
births which, seen from the earth, appeared at less than 30° of lon- 
gitude from the eastern border. There remained 4,271 spots to 
consider. 

For each planet P, the sun was divided into 12 equivalent vertical 
zones. The solar meridian passing through the planet P formed the 
boundary between the zones 6 and 7 on the hemisphere toward the 
planet and between 12 and 1 on the farther side. The number of 
spots seen for the first time in each zone was counted and used to 
form a plot having as abscissee the zone numbers. 

The results are rather irregular especially if—as Schuster did at 
first—we consider separately the spots counted when the earth is 
east or west of the central meridian. Of the three planets—Mercury, 
Jupiter, or Venus—each one seems to produce a minimum of spots 
where another may produce a maximum. If the above distinction 
is not made, the results seem more concordant. For all there is a 
minimum upon zone 38, that is when the planet is just rising, 
and a maximum on zone 8, which has already passed the meridian. 
This can be compared with the diurnal march of temperature on 
the earth due to the influence of the sun’s heat. But there are other 
intermediate maxima and minima for which the three planets are 
in no ways in accord. 

Schuster, however, considers that the similarity of march of the 
three curves for divisions 3 and 8 is sufficiently characteristic for 
rendering very probable the reality of a planetary influence. 

This march is very different from that which had been found for 
the earth and much less definite. The effective activity of the earth 
is therefore apparently of another nature and relatively stronger, 
or it is only apparent and due to the situation of the observer. 


72 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


The question was next taken up whether the distribution of spots 
in longitude did not become more unequal when the three planets 
considered, or two of them, were in conjunction for the same solar 
zone. The plots were remade considering only the spots born when 
that condition was fulfilled. No marked difference was evident. It 
seems as if the number of spots appearing in a zone is greater only 
when one of the planets in the conjunction, or slightly past it, is 
Venus. Schuster thinks that a planet may have merely an exciting 
action, effective only in putting into play a force already existing 
in the sun. Accordingly, a second planet on conjunction might not 
have any additional effect. 


RESEARCHES OF F. J. M. STRATTON. 


Stratton (Monthly Notices, 72, p. 9,1911) thought that it would be 
worth while to again take up this research, considering the disap- 
pearances as well as the appearances, and retaining only those which 
occur at less than 50 degrees from the solar meridian passing through 
the earth. He considers only Jupiter and Venus, which seemed the 
most probable as having an influence on the spottedness. The 
period used was the one of 36 years, 1874 to 1909, for which the 
photographs of the Greenwich Observatory furnished a complete 
series. 

The surface of the sun was divided into 24 equal zones instead of 
the 12 which Schuster used. The origin was the meridian passing 
through the planet at the moment of birth or disappearance of a 
spot. The zones 0 to 6 corresponded to meridians which had 
already passed over the planet but which are now hid from it. The 
zones 18 to 24 corresponded to meridians which are to transit but 
which are still out of sight. 

He then constructed for each planet plots in which the abscissee 
were the zone numbers and the ordinates— 

(a) The number of spots seen for the first time in each zone. 

(6) The number of spots seen for the first time in the northern 
part of each zone. 

(c) The number of spots seen for the first time in the southern 
part of each zone. | 

(dq) The number of ephemeral (that is, seen for one day only) 
spots seen in each zone. 

(e) Total number of spots seen either for the first time or for one 
day only in each zone. 

This gave five curves for each planet. These were remade, using 
the spots seen for the last time instead of those seen for the first time; 
that is, disappearances instead of appearances. 


REACTION OF PLANETS UPON SUN—PUISEUX. 1730 


- The plots were very irregular. Generally there was no similarity 
in their contour, even for the same planet, between the two hemi- 
spheres; neither was there between the same homispheres for differ- 
ent planets. There is one single coincidence, perhaps, which seems 
not due to chance. There is a maximum of ephemeral spots noted 
in the zones the meridians of which either Jupiter or Venus had 
already passed three hours previously. 

It is notable that for this interval of 36 years a terrestrial ob- 
server always notes in the central region of the sun more disap- 
pearances than appearances. The difference reaches 10 parts per 
100. This agrees with what Mrs. Maunder found for the interval 
1889 to 1901. For Jupiter and Venus the births seem more frequent 
when the planet is above than when under the horizon; that is, in 
the opposite sense from what Mrs. Maunder found for the earth. 
But the difference is very small and merits no physical explanation. 

The relation between the east and west hemispheres of the sun, as 
seen from a planet, is for Venus in the opposite sense than is the 
ease for the earth. In the case of Jupiter there is scarcely any dif- 
ference, as the following table shows: 


Spots seen on the hemisphere of the sun toward a planet. 


East half. | West half, 


ODSHIEETR oo j2 18 oS en ee ET SPE 8, 792 8.711 
LE AND < oro e done! bbpehUSOSeeee e ae eee ee a SE ei poe epee veo pen 8,213 7,508 


Ses Entre eh in a 88 SiMloiniciqa kh Pooh ep kgcisenee aiseueolae | 7,834 8,368 


Another comparison may throw some light on the matter. When 
a planet is on a given side of the equator is the hemisphere on the 
same side as the planet especially favored with spots? The reply 
is contained in the following table: 


South, number of | North, number of 


spots. spots. 
Planet. 
South. North. | South. North. 
ee eee | 8,419] 5,621] 5,785 5,931 
Joule. 4) 380s ee ee ae ne eae 1,512 1,254 1,485 1,329 
(ORDME ofa Sa So they SU eA a 6,931 5, 750 7,381 6, 212 


This table seems significant if only the left half is considered. 
But the preponderance in the southern hemisphere continues whether 
the planet is to the south or to the north. That is, in the interval con- 
sidered, the southern hemisphere of the sun had habitually more 
spots. This may be due to causes within the sun and to no influences 
from the planets. 


@iu ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


This simple comparison leads us to suspect that the concordances 
noted in the plots for the various planets may be due to causes within 
the sun, There are two possible reasons for the inequalities in the 
plots: 

(a) Any given zone relative to the planet can remain invisible from 
the earth for months. 

(b) The epoch when a particular planetary zone may be favor- 
ably seen by a terrestrial observer may fall sometimes in the spot 
maximum phase, sometimes in the minimum phase. 

The second perturbing effect is graver than the first. The period of 
36 years embraced by the Greenwich data is not sufficiently long to 
assure us that these two sources of error are eliminated. The method 
should not be abandoned, but we must get more observations. 


CONCLUSIONS. 


It would be presumptious to say that we have unveiled the mode 
in which the planets may react upon the sun, but we feel persuaded 
that some reaction exists and that it will not always elude us. The 
sun may have within itself the reason for its period, but it does not 
keep to itself its rythmic action. If it has not sufficient store of 
energy in the mutual attraction of its parts, in its rotation or in the 
active force of the plants, there remains a resource in the cosmic dust. 
Perhaps it is not the matter condensed into the shining stars but that 
which is scattered in impalpable particles throughout space which 
contributes more to the stability of the universe. 

It seems to me that these views suggested by the study of the 
heavens help to keep us even in every-day life from discouragement 
and indifference. The historian, whose attention is focused on salient 
events, may believe that the human race exists only for a few marked 
men. The naturalist, accustomed to note the annihilation of the 
weak, cries willingly with the poet, “ Le vent n’ecoute pas gemir la 
feuille morte” (The wind hears not the sigh of the lifeless leaf). 
But that is only apparently true. The dead leaf, in its manner and 
measure, reacts on the wind, Already religious moralists warn us that 
every act, no matter how small and weak, has a sovereign value when 
it is done in conformity with the eternal order. And this conclusion 
will not surprise the geometrician, who is constrained to weigh all 
in an impartial balance and recognizes in the smallest corner of the 
universe an unlimited influence with regard to space and the future. 


RECENT PROGRESS IN ASTROPHYSICS. 
By C. G. ABBOT. 


[ With 38 plates. ] 


According to the definition of the word by the late Prof. Newcomb 
in the last edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica, “Astrophysics is 
that branch of astronomical science which treats of the physical 
constitution of the heavenly bodies.” Interpreting this definition in 
a manner somewhat narrower than that which is generally accepted 
in astronomical circles, Prof. Newcomb, in his article on astrophysics, 
mentioned the principal conclusions of the science to be that the 
heavenly bodies are composed of like matter with that which we 
find to make up our globe; that as a rule the incandescent heavenly 
bodies are mainly composed of gas, or of substances gaseous in their 
nature; and that the temperature of the great heavenly bodies is 
extremely high. He thus omitted from the province of astrophysics 
the study of the motions of the celestial objects and their parts by 
aid of the spectroscope, although this certainly has a bearing on the 
physical constitution of these objects. Information of fundamental 
importance in relation to the nature of the heavenly bodies and the 
evolution of the universe has resulted from investigations of the 
radial velocity of stars by the spectroscope; and this is supplemented 
and confirmed by observations with the telescope alone. Hence I 
shall not confine myself strictly in what follows to Prof. Newcomb’s 
definition of astrophysics, but shall include the discussion of several 
subjects which have at least an astrophysical bearing, though not 
strictly, perhaps, astrophysical in themselves. 


THE WAVE LENGTHS OF LIGHT. 


All modern spectroscopic progress depends upon the exact knowl- 
edge of the wave lengths of the lines of absorption or emission of the 
chemical elements. Long ago it was discovered that sodium and its 
compounls, when heated to incandescense, gave out a yellow light, 
which when examined by the spectroscope, resolved itself into two 
lines of wave lengths 5,890 and 5,896 Angstrém units. It was also 
found that when sodium vapor was interposed between a source of 
white light, like the electric arc, and the slit of the spectroscope, 
there would be found in the place of the bright yellow lines of sodium 


175 


ee 176 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


two dark lines of absorption, where light of the are spectrum was 
taken away. Similarly, in the spectrum of iron, a great number of | 
bright lines are found in the green; and if iron vapor is interposed — 
between an electric arc light and the slit of the spectroscope, a great 
number of absorption lines will be found at the corresponding places. 
Also in the spectra of the sun and of many of the stars there occur 
dark lines corresponding exactly in place to the bright lines of the 
spectra of the chemical elements found upon the earth’s surface. 
From these indications it is clear that these chemical elements exist 
as vapors in the substance of the sun and stars. The number of 
chemical elements in the sun and stars is so considerable and the num- 
ber of their spectrum lines is so great, that the solar and stellar 
spectra are thronged with dark lines, so that it takes the most exact 
knowledge of the positions of the lines to insure for them a correct 
interpretation. 

But in recent years a great deal more has been learned by the aid of 
the spectroscope in regard to the sun and stars than of their mere con- 
stitution, for it is found that although the spectrum lines occur almost 
exactly in the same position in the spectra of the heavenly bodies 
that they do in the spectra of the laboratory, yet there are slight and 
very significant deviations of position which are attributable to the 
motion of the heavenly bodies to or from the earth. For, just as in 
the whistle of a locomotive, there is a sharping or flatting of the pitch, 
depending upon whether the locomotive is coming toward the ob- 
server or going away from him, so in the light of the stars there is a 
displacement of the spectrum lines toward the violet or toward the 
red, according as the star is approaching toward or receding from the 
earth. One may go even farther, and say that there is a difference in 
the position of the spectrum lines of the sun according as we take 
the light from one edge of the sun or the other. For one edge is ap- 
proaching the earth by virtue of the rotation of the sun while the 
other is receding. It is also shown that the position of the spectrum 
lines depends upon the pressure of the gases in which they are pro- 
duced, so that it is possible to determine by exact measurements the 
pressures under which the gases lie in the sun and stars, although 
these are so extraordinarily remote that it takes light minutes or 
years to reach the earth from them. Finally, it has been shown by 
Zeeman that the form of the spectrum lines of the chemical elements 
differs according to whether the light is produced in a magnetic field 
or not. Accordingly it is possible to determine from measurements 
of the solar spectrum whether magnetic fields exist in the sun, and, 
if so, to what intensity they rise. 

All these kinds of measurement, which depend upon extremely 
slight displacements of the spectrum lines, evidently require that 
great accuracy shall be obtained in the determinations of the positions 


PROGRESS IN ASTROPHYSICS—-ABBOT, WE 


of these lines in the laboratory. When about the year 1895 Rowland 
completed his investigation of the spectrum of the sun and of the 
chemical elements, it was thought that the last word had been said 
upon this, and that no greater accuracy of positions of the spectrum 
lines was necessary, or indeed possible, than he had obtained. But 
in recent years it has been found necessary to go over the whole 
ground again, and to determine the positions of the lines of the 
chemical elements and the lines in the spectrum of the sun with a 
still greater accuracy than that of Rowland. This work has been 
taken up under the auspices of the International Solar Union, and is 
now approaching a satisfactory completion. 

In the year 1893 a remarkable piece of work was carried out by 
Prof. Michelson (now of the University of Chicago) in the measure- 
ment of the wave length of light in terms of the standard meter of 
the International Bureau of Weights and Measures at Paris. Several 
of the spectrum lines were investigated, and among them the red 
line of cadmium, whose wave length as determined by Michelson is 
6438.4722 Angstrém units. In pursuance of the investigations re- 
cently recommended by the International Solar Union, Messrs. Fabry 
and Perot remeasured the wave length of the cadmium line and found 
the value 6438.4696, which, it will be seen, differs by less than 3 parts 
in 6,000,000 from that obtained by Michelson. On this value of 
Fabry and Perot will rest the system of wave lengths adopted by the 
International Solar Union. 

It had been determined at the meeting of the Union on Mount 
Wilson in 1910 that only wave lengths which are independently de- 
termined with satisfactory agreement by three observers with the 
most approved apparatus should be accepted as secondary wave- 
length standards. In pursuance of this action of the Solar Union, 
Messrs. Fabry and Buisson in France, Pfund at Baltimore, Eversheim 
and Burns in Germany, have been determining with the highest 
possible accuracy the wave lengths of certain lines in the spectra of 
iron and nickel, selected at nearly equal intervals of wave length. 
About 85 such lines have now been measured with satisfactory agree- 
ment in three or more independent investigations, and have been 
adopted by the International Solar Union as secondary standards 
of wave length. These lines cover the spectrum from a wave length 
3370.789 Angstrom units, which is far beyond the visible limit of the 
spectrum in the violet, to wave length 6750.163 Angstrém units, 
which is near the limit of the visible red. It is expected that further 
investigations will carry the lists of secondary standards as far as 
wave length 2,000 in the ultra-violet, and perhaps as far as wave 
length 10,000 in the infrared. The astonishing accuracy of the re- 
sults obtained may be inferred when it is said that the three inde- 


1The Angstrém unit is one ten-billionth of a meter. 


44863°—sm 1918 12 


ft 178 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


pendent investigations generally agree to the seventh place of spit 
cant figures. Also St. John and Ware have investigated the con- 
sistency of the standards, each to each, by determining other wave 
lengths independently by interpolation from several different stand- 
ards, and are of the opinion that adjustments in the seventh place of 
significant figures are hardly ever necessary, and will perhaps never 
exceed 0.002 Angstrém units in any case. Investigations are now 
on foot by St. John and Ware, Goos, Burns, and others to determine 
a large number of tertiary standards of wave lengths intermediate 
between these secondary standards, and it is hoped that good agree- 
ment in regard to the tertiary standards will soon be obtained. 

It is found necessary in this work to specify the strength of the 
electric current, the length of its arc, and the position of the sht of 
the spectroscope with respect to the arc in order to get satisfactory 
results. It now remains to go over the whole system of spectra of all 
the chemical elements and determine the positions of their lines with 
respect to these standard lines of iron, nickel, and barium which 
have been adopted, and further to go over the whole solar spectrum 
and to determine the position of its absorption lines with respect to 
these standards. 

Although this will involve an enormous amount of careful work 
in photography of the spectrum and in the measurements of the re- 
sults, a work which will be so exacting as to appear at times almost 
a drudgery to those who are engaged in it, yet like other good work 
it is almost beyond question that it will yield unexpected fruits of 
discovery in addition to those of investigations of the nature of the 
sun and of the stars for which it is primarily undertaken. 


SOLAR PROBLEMS. 
1. THE NATURE OF SUN SPOTS. 


Soon after the invention of the telescope, Galileo, in the year 1610, 
observed spots on the sun. They continued to be observed by many 
persons, and in the middle of the nineteenth century it was found 
by Schwabe that the appearance of them was periodic. The average 
interval between successive maxima or minima of sun spots is 11 
years, but individual periods range from 8 years to 15 years in length. 
The years from 1905 to 1910 were distinguished for large numbers of 
sun spots, and the years 1910 to the present time for very small 
numbers. We are now probably just at the beginning of a new sun- 
spot maximum period, so that the report of spots being seen upon the 
surface of the sun need not surprise us. Sun spots, as seen in the 
_telescope, consist of a dark central part called the umbra, and a less 
dark shading around it called the penumbra. The appearance of the 
sun when large spots are upon its surface is shown in the accom- 
panying figure (pl. 1). 


BS 


— 


as 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Abbot. PLATE 1. 


SOLAR PHOTOGRAPH SHOWING SUN SPOTS. 


Taken from the Astrophysical Journal, volume 82, plate 1, figure 1, article of Slocum, page 24, 1910. 


‘01g oSvd ‘27 o3R[d §(op 3: uoJoTddy “a ‘L6T GusAAdoD) NS 95, S40 ULOAf UOARL 


*AYOLVAUSSAO YVIOS NOSTIM LNNOWW AB dV) WNYLOadS LOdS-NNS 


| fe 
A ba 
| MyITTT fe hdtuber lian 
06 ohs} a 09 0S OV O€ 02g 


nO) aLV1d ‘Loqqyv—'¢ 161 ‘uoday ueluosy}ILUS 


PROGRESS IN ASTROPHYSICS—ABBOT. 179 


The nature of sun spots has long been a subject of investigation. 
In the last few years comparatively satisfactory conclusions have 
been drawn. It appears that sun spots are cooler than the surround- 
ing surface of the sun. This is shown in several ways. In the first 
place, a delicate electrical thermometer, called the bolometer, in the 
hands of Langley and subsequent investigators, has shown a de- 
creased temperature when exposed to the rays from sun spots, as 
compared with its temperature when exposed to the rays of the sur- 
face of the sun close by. In the second place, the spectrum of the 
sun spot is found to differ from the spectrum of the solar surface in 
the immediate neighborhood in certain very characteristic ways. 
This difference has been investigated by the Mount Wilson Solar 
Observatory. A photographic map of the sun-spot spectrum as com- 
pared with the spectrum of the sun’s surface has been published by 
that observatory. The accompanying illustration (pl. 2) is taken 
from an interesting portion of such a spectrum map. 

It shows in the first place that a large number of lines are found 
in the sun-spot spectrum which are either very indistinct, or not to 
be seen at all in the spectrum of the sun’s surface. It shows in the 
second place that certain lines are broadened, or made double, in the 
spectrum of the sun spot as compared with the spectrum of the sur- 
roundings. In the third place, that some lines are weakened and 
some strengthened in sun spots, as compared with those of the sur- 
roundings. The cause of the numerous additional lines in the sun- 
spot spectrum has been found to be the presence of certain compound 
substances, such as calcium hydride, magnesium hydride, and certain 
oxides, as, for example, that of titanium. The cause of the different 
intensity of certain lines in the spectra of the spot and of the sur- 
roundings is shown by Hale, Adams, and Gale to be the decreased 
temperature of the sun spot. This conclusion they confirm, line for 
line, by noting the behavior of the lines of the corresponding chemi- 
eal elements when observed at different temperatures, by the aid of 
the spectroscope, in the laboratory. 

The doubling or widening of the lines of the sun-spot spectrum was 
found by Hale to be due to the presence in sun spots of a magnetic 
field. This observation depends on the discovery of Zeeman that the 
spectrum lines of the chemical elements, when produced in a strong 
magnetic field, are often doubled or trebled or made even more com- 
plex. The component lines, so produced, depend as regards their 
position, number, and the polarization of their light, upon the 
strength and direction of the magnetic field through which they are 
observed. The relation of magnetization to the polarization of the 
light was the feature of the matter which laid the subject of. the 
widening of lines in sun spots open to Hale’s investigation. By the 
use of proper apparatus for the polarizing and analyzing of light, 


180 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


he was able to remove or alter the individual components of the 
spectrum lines in a manner adapted to show the magnetic field exist- 
ing in the sun spots where the light was produced. This most inter- 
esting discovery he has now pushed still further, and has examined 
the magnetic field of the whole surface of the sun. He finds that 
there exists upon the sun a magnetic field similar in many of its char- 
acteristics to that which exists in the earth, although the intensity of 
the field is so extremely slight that the shifts or alterations of spec- 
trum lines caused by it are almost beyond the possibility of disclosure. 

Recently it was shown by Evershed that in the penumbras or dark- 
ened edges of sun spots, there are found shiftings of the spectrum 
lines which show that the vapors are moving outward from the 
center of the spot, or umbra, toward the outlying parts of the penum- 
bra. Later investigation shows that this outflow of the gases from 
the umbra toward the outer part of the penumbra is accompanied 
by a motion of rotation also around the umbra, so that the motion 
resolves itself into a whirling of these vapors or gases similar to 
that which is found in a waterspout. This has a very important 
bearing on the explanation of the magnetic field in sun spots dis- 
covered by Hale, for it was shown by Rowland many years ago that 
an electric charge in motion has the property of an electric current of 
producing a magnetic field. Thus if there are in sun spots materials 
under dissimilar electric conditions, and these materials be whirled 
as in a waterspout, they must necessarily produce a magnetic field. 
St. John, of the Mount Wilson Solar Observatory, has made a thor- 
ough investigation of the motions of the vapors in the neighborhood 
of sun spots, using the spectrum lines of many of the chemical ele- 
ments. He finds that the displacements of the spectrum lines of iron 
and some other well-known metals indicates a motion away from the 
umbra. The motion, on the other hand, of magnesium and hydrogen 
and some other of the lighter chemical elements is toward the 
umbra. Is was also shown some years ago in a photograph by St. 
John that hydrogen gas is sometimes sucked into the center of a sun 
spot. 

All these various lines of evidence indicate that a sun spot is a 
whirl in the gases of the outer part of the sun, analagous to a water- 
spout, and that this whirl comes from within outward. Associated 
with the whirl there is produced a magnetic field, and associated 
with the outward motion of the materials a decrease of pressure. 
The decreased pressure of the gases causes their expansion and conse- 
quent cooling, so that the coolness of the sun spot is thereby ex- 
plained. As the gases spread out at the surface of the sun, the 
lighter gases—hydrogen and others—which are found in the outer- 
most solar layers, are sucked into the partial vacuum at the center 
of the whirl. 


PROGRESS IN ASTROPHYSICS—ABBOT., 181 
2. SOUNDING THE SOLAR DEPTHS. 


St. John’s investigations of radial motion in the neighborhood of 
sun spots have led him to further very interesting results. For it 
appears that if one takes the various lines of iron as found in the 


Pressure Elevation 


Z in atm's in km, 
a HG KS 
0.0 25000 
SS Ha 
7 
pate 
$< HK 
4 
13.000 
1 ee 
\ “ 
i or 
! eg 
| | ui S 275) 5) e 
i Trew A Ho us Chromosphێre 4000 
\ / wv / / 
Le, Ca eet / a 
ty Le, pie 
pies oi 15- 20° Fe (15-40) eel (of velocity - inversion ~~ 
ig oes ia 
if 1 > MeO a a 
rH if % 7 a wa 2 eg 
i n 10 Fe Bae Reversing layer 
! N a 
il! “ee Ve Sx ge 3000 
ll TEES Fe Py 
I fom Fe aN 0.5 
Mp4 > Fe -” Ni se 30 800 
wl 4 (ee as \ De 
i, | 3—-—H———_——__+> Fe \ os 57 
Si pe ea as a Fe Siege 250 
2 


Fic. 1.—Vertical section of reversing layer and chromosphere, showing distribution of 
radial velocities of sun spots. 


The lengths of solid lines are proportional to radial displacements of the corresponding 
Fraunhofer lines. Arrows indicate direction of flow. The rounded head of the cyclonic 
disturbance is suggested by the broken-line curve enveloping the outward velocities. 
Broken iines with arrows refer to possible velocities below the accessible levels. Lines 
of force of the magnetic field are indicated in the usual way.—From Report on Mount 
Wilson Solar Observatory, by George E. Hale, Twelfth Year Book Carnegie Institution of 
Washington, 1913. 


sun’s spectrum, classifying them according to their faintness after the 
manner of Rowland, the fainter lines show greater displacements 
and thereby more rapid outflowing in the sun-spot whirls than do the 
brighter ones. In fact, the brightest iron lines show less than a 


182 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913, 


fourth as great displacements as do the fainter ones. Now, it appears 
from various lines of reasoning that the fainter lines should be the 
ones that are formed at the greatest depths, so that St. John is able 
to arrange the iron spectrum with reference to faintness and with 
reference to velocity of outflow in sun spots in a series which very 
probably indicates a progressive depth of sounding below the sur- 
face of the sun. Then corresponding to this iron scale, if he takes 
the lines of the other chemical elements, comparing them line by line 
as regards velocity of outflow with the velocity shown by his iron 
scale, he may arrange all the chemical elements in terms of the iron 
scale, in the order of their depths of occurrence below the sun’s 
surface. 

In this way he finds, as is indeed indicated by other lines of re- 
search, that the heavy chemical elements will he the lowest, and vice 
versa. Corresponding to this arrangement it is natural to find that 
the lines of calcium, sodium, magnesium, and hydrogen indicate a 
flow of greater and greater velocity in the opposite direction from 
those of iron, so that these elements are arranged above the upper- 
most level of the iron lines in a progress outward from the general 
solar surface. Thus, as shown in figure 1, we may have the arrange- 
ment of the vapors as they exist in the sun, from the hydrogen at 
the highest level down to the elements like lead, lanthanum, barium, 
at relatively low levels. Such elements as uranium (and radium, 
if it exists in the sun) are so very high in atomic weight that they 
lie very deep down in the sun and do not give solar-spectrum lines 
at all, so that we shall probably not obtain direct proof of the ex- 
istence of radium in the sun on account of the low level at which 
it must lie if present there. We have, to be sure, long known of 
the existence in the sun of helium, which is a product of the disins 
tegration of radium. This may, perhaps, indicate that the parent 
substance, radium, is also present in the sun, but of this there is no 


certainty. 
3. MEASUREMENTS OF SOLAR RADIATION 


In the Smithsonian Report for 1912 the writer gave an illustrated 
account of the investigations of solar radiation by the Astrophysical 
Observatory of the Smithsonian Institution. In July, 1913, the results 
of this long investigation were published with details in volume 3 of 
the Annals of the Astrophysical Observatory. The most important 
conclusions are as follows: 

1. The mean value of the solar constant of radiation for the epoch 
1905-1912 is 1.932 calories per square centimeter per minute. 

2. An increase of 0.07 calory per square centimeter per minute in 
the “solar constant” accompanies an increase of 100 sun-spot numbers. 

3. An irregular variation frequently ranging over 0.07 calory 
per square centimeter per minute within an interval of 10 days is 


PROGRESS IN ASTROPHYSICS—ABBOT. 183 


established by numerous nearly simultaneous measurements at Mount 
Wilson, Cal., and Bassour, Algeria. 

4, Indications of two wholly independent kinds incline us to think 
that these variations of solar radiation are caused within the sun, 
and not by iuterposing meteoric or other matter. 


STELLAR PROBLEMS. 
I. THE DISTANCES OF THE STARS. 


The actual distances of several hundred of the stars can be said 
to be known within moderate limits of accuracy. Various methods 
are used for determining the distances of the stars, but they gen- 
erally depend upon the fact that the earth, by reason of its revolu- 
tion about the sun, occupies places separated by 186,000,000 miles 
at intervals six months apart. This corresponds to the surveyor’s 
base line, and allows us to triangulate for the distances of the stars. 
Another method of estimating the stellar distances may be based 
upon the fact that the solar system is approaching the constellation 
Hercules at the rate of about 20 kilometers (12 miles) per second, so 
that the position occupied by the earth in space to-day is different 
from that which will be occupied to-morrow by reason of the motion 
of the solar system, but this method involves assumptions in regard 
to the motions peculiar to the stars observed. 

It is customary to express the distances of the stars in light-years, 
for the distances of the stars, if given in kilometers or miles, or even 
in terms of the radius of the earth’s orbit, are so enormous as to 
require many figures. Light, however, traveling at the rate of 186,000 
miles per second, in the course of a year travels about 6,000,000,- 
000,000 miles. In terms of this unit the nearest star is at a distance 
of four and a half light-years. The stellar distances are considered 
up to such enormous quantities as a thousand or more light-years. 
It is also customary to speak of the parallaxes of stars. By this is 
meant the angle which the radius of the earth’s orbit would subtend 
if viewed most favorably from the star in question. The parallaxes ° 
of the stars range from about one second of are (1’’) downward. 
The following table shows the relation between miles, light-years, 
and parallaxes of stars: 


Star. a Centauri. Procyon. Altair. Castor. Arcturus. Antares. 
tr at ut Mt ut ” 
Parallax. . 0.75 0.33 0. 23 0.10 0. 066 0. 02 
Light-years . 4.5 10.0 14.5 33.3 50.0 166.7 
Miles... ... 127,000,000 | ! 60,000,000 | 187,000,000 | 200,000,000 | 300,000,000 | 1 1,000, 000, 000 


1 000,000 omitted. 


The first successful measurements on stellar parallaxes were made 
by Struve at Dorpat on the star Vega in the years 1835 to 1838, and 


184 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


by Bessel on the star 61 Cygni, 1837 to 1840. Bessel’s result was 
0.35’’.. This value is in close accord with recent measurements. It 
was a great feat to measure such a small angle as this. In modern 
practice the efforts to measure parallaxes absolutely have practically 
been discontinued, for it is found that the very faint stars are so 
immensely distant from us as hardly to be displaced at all in their 
apparent positions by the motion of the earth in its orbit. Hence, for 
stars which are near enough to be observed for parallax it suffices to 
compare their positions with respect to the faint stars in their neigh- 
borhoods at two epochs separated from one another by six months. 

Many of the parallax determinations of great weight have been 
made by use of the heliometer, which is a telescope with its objective 
lens cut in half, with the two parts movable with respect to one 
another by a fine screw. With this instrument the images of two 
celestial objects, one formed by one-half of the lens and the other 
by the other may be brought into coincidence by shifting the two 
parts of the lens with respect to one another, and the scale of the 
instrument gives thereby an indication of the angular distance be- 
tween the two objects in the heavens. Thus the relative positions of 
the stars may be observed for parallax purposes. 

Stellar parallax measurements by means of the heliometer have 
been the main work of the Astronomical Observatory of Yale 
University. A volume of the Transactions of the Observatory 
has been issued recently containing the results. The parallaxes of 
195 stars have been ascertained with an average probable error of 
0.015’’. The stars investigated at Yale naturally do not include 
stars visible only in the southern hemisphere. The parallaxes of 
some of the southern stars have been observed with the heliometer 
from the Observatory of the Cape of Good Hope. Of the parallaxes 
determined at Yale the largest pertaining to a bright star is 0.33” 
for the star Procyon, whose magnitude is 0.6, and which has a proper 
motion in the sky of 1.23’’ per century.t. According to the little table 
just given it will be seen that this corresponds to a distance of 
10 light-years. The largest parallax found for any star by the 


1The stars have long been arranged with respect to their brightness, by “ magnitudes.” 
A number of the brightest stars in the heavens are regarded as of the first magnitude. 
The Polar Star is of the second magnitude, and the brightness of the faintest of the six 
readily visible stars in the constellation Pleiades is 4.4 magnitudes. An increase of five 
magnitudes corresponds to a decrease of a hundredfold in the brightness of the stars. It 
was found when the measured distances of the stars were arranged in the order of the 
magnitudes of the stars observed that the brighter stars were on the whole nearer to 
us than the fainter ones. 

The ‘proper motion’ of a star is ordinarily given as the angle through which the 
star moves in a century in the heavens, after allowances are made for all effects of 
nutation, precession, aberration, etc., but not for the motion of the solar system toward 
the constellation Hercules. Proper motion therefore includes the star’s real motion 
in space with reference to the whole system of stars and, in addition, the star’s apparent 
motion, really due to the motion of the solar system toward the constellation Hercules, 
Proper motions tend of course to diminish the greater the distances of the stars considered. 


PROGRESS IN ASTROPHYSICS—-ABBOT. 185 


observations at Yale was 0.39’’ for the faint star known as Lalande 
21185. This star is invisible to the eye, being of magnitude 7.3 
and has a proper motion of 4.77’’ per century. 

Another method of parallax investigation which has been devel- 
oped in recent years to a high state of perfection is that by photog- 
raphy. If a photograph of a celestial region containing the star 
whose parallax is to be determined is made in the earlier part of the 
night at one epoch, and again in the latter part of the night at an 
epoch six months later, the position of the parallax star will in gen- 
eral be found to be changed with respect to the mean position of all 
the fainter stars in its neighborhood. After clearing the apparent 
motions for the known proper motions of the stars in question, a 
residual effect will be left, due to the fact that the parallax star is 
in general nearer than the fainter stars in the background. In a 
method proposed by Kapteyn the photography was done in the fol- 
lowing manner: A plate was exposed at a certain epoch, then kept 
without developing for six months, exposed again in a slightly dif- 
ferent position, and then kept still another six months, and finally 
exposed a third time before developing. Thus three series of images 
of all the stars would be found upon the plate, of which two would 
be taken with the earth in one part of its orbit and the other with the 
earth at the opposite part. Recently Prof. Schlesinger, formerly of 
the Yerkes Observatory, now director of the Allegheny Observatory, 
has used the photographic method with the great Yerkes refractor, 
and has obtained parallaxes for about 25 stars of a very high order of 
accuracy. Prof. H. N. Russell, of Princeton, also has obtained excel- 
lent results by this method for 52 stars observed by himself and 
Hinks at Cambridge, England. These observers did not leave the 
plates undeveloped for a year or 18 months, according to the method 
proposed by Kapteyn, but preferred to take separate plates at the 
different epochs. This parallax work by photography is becoming 
extremely well thought of by astronomers, and is engaging more and 
more the efforts of those who have large refracting telescopes avail- 
able for this purpose. 

Tt is found, as would be expected, that in general the brightest 
stars are nearer the earth, and the stars whose proper motions are 
largest are also nearer the earth. Prof. Kapteyn published, in 1902, 
a formula connecting the quantities parallax, stellar magnitude, and 
proper motion. This is found to agree pretty well with more recent 
work. Prof. Lewis Boss, in his interesting discussion of the great 
Preliminary General Catalogue of positions and proper motions 
of stars, recently published by the Carnegie Institution, has also 
derived a formula connecting the proper motion and the parallax for 
stars of the 5.3 magnitude. 


186 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


The positions of the stars in the heavens change slightly from 
year to year, owing to two causes: First, the motion of the solar sys- 
tem as a whole in the direction toward the constellation Hercules; 
second, the individual motions peculiar to stars themselves, The 
first-mentioned component of proper motion increases directly as the 
stellar distance descreases. Stellar parallax observers, being over- 
whelmed by the enormous number of the stars, were obliged to choose 
from them a small list for observation. It was natural to select stars 
of large proper motion for such a purpose, since these would prob- 
ably represent the class nearest to the earth. Hence if we take, for 
instance, from the list of stars whose parallax has been determined 
a group whose mean parallax is 0.1’’, the mean of their proper mo- 
tions exceeds the mean proper motion, which would be found for all 
the stars whose parallax is 0.1’’, if all those stars had been investi- 
gated. Hence it must occur that, as the distances of more and more 
of the stars become known, our estimated value for the mean dis- 
tance, corresponding to stars of a given brightness or a given proper 
motion must diminish. 


2. MOTIONS OF THE STARS. 


Within the last few years great pieces of statistical investigation 
in relation to the stars have been published which are of the highest 
value for the progress of our knowledge of the universe. Americans 
should be particularly proud of several of these investigations. 

The first is by the Harvard College Observatory, under the direc- 
tion of Prof. E. C. Pickering. Volume 50 of its annals, containing 
the Revised Harvard Photometry, gives a catalogue of the positions, 
photometric magnitudes, and spectra of 9,110 stars, mainly of the 
6.5 magnitude and brighter, covering both the northern and southern 
hemisphere. A still more extensive work of a similar kind, to be 
called the Revised Draper Catalogue, which will include data for 
probably 200,000 stars, is now in course of preparation at the 
Harvard College Observatory and may be expected to be finished 
within a short time, thanks to Prof. Pickering’s great eare in the 
arrangement of the work. 

The second great work to which I refer is entitled “ Preliminary 
General Catalogue of 6,188 stars for the epoch 1900. Prepared at 
the Dudley Observatory, Albany, N. Y., by Lewis Boss and pub- 
lished by the Department of Meridian Astrometry of the Carnegie 
Institution of Washington, 1910.” Prof. Boss says: “The general 
catalogue of 6,188 stars herein contained is the result of an attempt 
to deduce for these stars the most exact positions and motions that 
are readily attainable from the means at command.” In compiling 
it he has compared about 80 star catalogues, from the catalogue of 
Bradley, dated 1755, to modern catalogues of the period 1900. From 


PROGRESS IN ASTROPHYSICS—ABBOT. 187 


these he has deduced the most probable positions in right ascension 
and declination of the stars, and the proper motions of the stars as 
indicated by the observations of them at long separated epochs. The 
result obtained with regard to proper motion have led him to a most 
interesting series of papers, some conclusions of which will be re- 
ferred to in what follows: 

The third great piece of work to which I have referred is not yet 
published in extenso, but has been published in part. It exists in 
maunscript, and the principal conclusions to be immediately derived 
from it have already been published in a series of interesting papers 
by Prof. W. W. Campbell, director of the Lick Observatory. 

Tt is now 16 years since Director Campbell described the Mills 
spectrograph of the Lick Observatory. This fine instrument, re- 
modeled in 1902, has been unremittingly used by him until the pres- 
ent time. A companion Mills spectrograph was installed under Di- 
rector Campbell’s direction in Chile in the year 1903, and this also 
has been diligently employed by successive observers sent down from 
the Lick Observatory. 

It was Director Campbell’s intention in this long campaign to ob- 
serve the spectra of all stars brighter than the fifth magnitude, in 
both the northern and southern hemispheres, in a manner adapted 
to determine accurately the motion of each of these stars in the line 
of sight; that is to say, in a direction toward or fromtheearth. This 
motion is also termed radial velocity. The time of exposure neces- 
sary for photographing a single spectrum ranges from a few minutes 
up to several hours, according to the brightness of the star and the 
quality of the atmospheric conditions. It is necessary in such a 
campaign as that which the Lick Observatory has been making to ob- 
serve each of the stars several times in order to confirm the velocity 
found or to detect the presence of variability of velocity, such as 
often leads to the most interesting results. The Lick Observatories 
in California and Chile have observed between 1,000 and 2,000 stars 
for radial velocity, and these, with a considerable number of others 
observed by other observatories, made up a list exceeding 1,700 in 
number, which was discussed by Director Campbell in a series of 
papers in the year 1911. 

About one-fourth of the stars observed were found to be spectro- 
scopic binaries. That is to say, although they appeared to be single 
points of light to the telescope, yet certain peculiarities in the dis- 
placements of their spectrum lines from time to time indicated that 
each of the apparent points of light embraced a system of celestial 
objects comparable in some respects with the solar system. This 
similarity, however, does not extend to details, for the objects in- 
eluded in a spectroscopic binary, or multiple star, are each usually 
hot enough to give light by itself, and in general are objects of more 


188 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


approximately equal size than the sun and the planets. The motions 
of a considerable number of these spectroscopic binaries have been 
investigated by mathematicians, and the orbits of the motions have 
been determined, but there still remains a large number of them for 
which this information is not yet available. These latter objects 
were rejected from Prof. Campbell’s general discussion of the stellar 
motions on account of the indefiniteness which must attend their 
motions for a time. There are besides a considerable number of stars 
whose spectra are so vague and difficult to measure that the results 
from them are uncertain. Accordingly, there remained available for 
his investigation only about 1,200 objects. 

The first investigation relates to the motion of the solar system in 
space. As in a forest walk the trees in front seem to separate as we 
approach and those behind to come together as we recede, so the stars 
to the telescopic observer would appear to crowd toward the point 
of the sky from which we are receding and to separate from that 
point of the sky toward which we are approaching, if the sun with 
the planets is in motion in the heavens with respect to the positions 
of the stars. Such tendencies were noted by Sir William Herschel 
in 1783, from a consideration of the proper motions of 18 stars, all 
then available. He found that the solar system was traveling ap- 
proximately toward the star } Hercules, in right ascension 262°, 
declination, +26°. 

The information found by the spectroscope relates to motion at 
right angles to that which is observed by the telescope, so that while 
the telescopic observer would find the stars precisely in the solar 
apex to have no component of motion caused by their relations to 
the solar system, the spectroscopic observer would find these stars 
to be approaching the earth with the maximum velocity, while those 
at the opposite point would be receding from the earth with the same 
velocity. The telescopic observer, looking at right angles to the 
line of motion of the solar system, would see the stars at the maxi- 
mum velocity, whereas the spectroscopic observer, looking in the 
same direction, would find no radial velocity at all caused by the 
solar motion. 

Director Campbell’s general solution for the solar motion derived 
from all the stars investigated, 1,193 in number, gave the following 
values: Apex at right ascension, 268°.5, declination +25°.1, and 
velocity 19.5 kilometers per second. 

In Prof. Lewis Boss’s discussion of the proper motions of 6,188 
stars, he also has derived the position of the apex toward which 
the solar system is approaching. He finds it in right ascension 
270°.52, declination +34°.28, and he finds that for stars situated at 
90° from the apex, which of course, will show the greatest apparent 
velocity of recession from the apex, the mean rate of apparent mo- 


PROGRESS IN ASTROPHYSICS—ABBOT. 189 


tion is 3.85’’ per year. This is called the mean solar parallactic 
motion for the star group. Now, of course, the parallactic motions 
of the stars depend upon their distances from the earth, and natur- 
ally will be less for the fainter stars than for the brighter ones, 
since the fainter ones are situated at the greatest distances. 

The mean magnitude of all the stars investigated by Boss was 
5.7, but he selects 559 stars having large proper motions whose 
average magnitude was 5.3 and for which the mean solar parallactic 
motion was 21.58’. Prof. Boss then goes on to compare the magni- 
tude and parallaxes of 130 stars ate: parallaxes had been meas- 
ured, and thereby obtains a formula connecting the parallax and 
proper motion for stars of the magnitude 5.3. He thus has a meas- 
ure of the distance of the stars of large proper motion which he is 
considering, and from this he finds that the velocity of the solar 
system, in its motion toward the constellation Hercules, is 24.5 kilo- 
meters (15 miles) per second. Readers will note that this value is 
derived quite independently from that of Prof. Campbell, and that 
it is about 25 per cent larger than his. But from the considerations 
above mentioned (under the caption “ Distances of the stars”) prob- 
ably a reduction of the estimated distances corresponding to given 
proper ‘motions will be brought about as more determinations of 
stellar distances become available. Thus Prof. Boss’s estimate will 
be brought down toward that of Prof. Campbell. 

It is found that the fainter stars are on the whole at greater dis- 
tances from the sun than the brighter ones, so that the star list of 
Boss relates on the average to a system of stars at a greater distance 
from the observer than the star list of Campbell. A reason has 
already been assigned for supposing Boss’s value of the solar motion 
too high. It may be on the other hand that the sun’s motion is to 
some extent shared by the stars which are its more immediate neigh- 
bors, so that its velocity with respect to them is smaller than with 
respect to the stars which are more remote. 

Prof. Campbell has adopted in his later discussions the round 
numbers 270° right ascension and 30° declination for the position 
of the solar apex, and the velocity of 19.5 kilometers as the rate of 
its motion toward this apex. 

With these quantities determined, it is possible to ae from the 
observed radial velocity of each star a component which depends 
upon the motion of the sun, and thus to leave to each star its own 
individual motion with respect to the earth, as the earth would be if 
fixed in space with reference to the whole system of stars considered. 
As the sun moves at the rate of 19.5 kilometers per second in a cer- 
tain direction, so for each of the other stars investigated, there 
should be a certain velocity and direction of motion. The stars have 
been classified at the Harvard College Observatory under the direc- 


190 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


tion of Prof. E. C. Pickering, with regard to the nature of their 
spectrum. The principal groups of the Harvard classification are 
designated by the letters B, A, F, G, K, M. The peculiarities of 
these types of spectra are indicated in the accompanying plate 3. 
We see the progressive greater complexity of the spectra from type 
to type. Campbell points out the very interesting fact that the more 
complex the star spectrum, the greater the velocity of the star in 
space, with regard to a point so fixed that the algebraic sum of the 
velocities of all the stars with respect to it is 0. The same conclusion 
is derived independently by Boss from a consideration, not of radial 
motions, but of thwart motions of the stars. The results of Campbell 
and Boss are compared in the following table. We assume for Boss’s 
results as for Campbell’s that the velocity of the solar system toward 
its apex of motion is 19.5 kilometers per second, thus the angular 
motion observed by the telescope may be converted into its linear 
equivalent. Unfortunately the grouping of stars by the two ob- 
servers is different as regards the subclasses of the Harvard classifi- 
cation. 


Campbell. Boss. 
| l 
Component | Component 
of peculiar of peculiar 
Classes. Noe of! velocity | Classes. yee of | “velocity 
; (km. per i (km. per 
second). second). 
| i Ve 
B-B5.. 1312 6.2 Oe5-B5. 490 6.4 
B8-B9. 90 Geis Teese. Dee ees ee. ee 
see 172 10.5 B&s-A4. 1,647 9.9 
i) ae 180 14.4 A5-FS.. 656 15.8 
(CL aie. 118 15.9 Gx egeeee 444 18.1 
ee 346 16.8 Bic etree 1,227 14.7 
WI eae 71 17.1 ER a 222 16.7 
1,289 4, 686 


1 For 132 of these stars the radial velocity is estimated. 


The reader must note that the results, both of Boss and of Camp- 
bell, relate only to a certain component of the motion of the stars. 
In the case of Boss it is derived from that component of the proper 
motion, which is at right angles to the solar pathway; and in that 
of Campbell it is that component of the radial motion which is in the 
plane of the star and the solar pathway and is at right angles to the 
solar motion. If it is assumed that the stars have no preference for 
motion in one direction rather than another and that they are well 
distributed over the whole celestial sphere it follows that the values 
above given from both observers are but half the average velocity of 
the group of stars, considering their motions in the real directions 
which they have in space, and not merely the components of motion 
found by Boss and Campbell. Thus we find for stars of group G, 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Abbot. PLATE 3. 


e Orionis. 


@ Carine 


@ Can. Min. 


@ Aurigee. 


& Bootis. 


& Orionis, 


TYPICAL STELLAR SPECTRA. 


From Annals Harvard College Observatory, volume 64, No. 4, plate 1. 


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PROGRESS IN ASTROPHYSICS—ABBOT. 191 


to which our sun belongs, an average velocity of 32 or more kilo- 
meters per second, which is considerably greater than 19.5, which is 
assigned to our sun. 

The Milky Way, composed as it is of a vast number of stars, has 
long been a circle of reference in the heavens for the discussion of the 
distribution of the stars. Not only are the individual stars crowded 
more closely in the Milky Way than elsewhere, but the crowding is 
different with different spectral types. Thus Prof. Pickering 
pointed out in his discussion of Harvard Revised Photometry that the 
stars of the early types, type B especially, were to be found prepon- 
deratingly in the neighborhood of the Milky Way. This tendency 
of the stars to distribute themselves differently with respect to the 
Milky Way has been summarized by Prof. Boss in the following 
tables, in which he gives the numbers of stars of different spectral 
types to be found in zones at different distances from the center of 
the Milky Way, and also the numbers of stars of the different types 
which occur in equal areas in these zones, assuming for the zone +10 
to —10° a number of 100. We see that the stars of the so-called 
“later types” G K M are nearly uniformly distributed over the 
heavens, but that the stars of the “early types,” especially B, are 
very unequally distributed, and crowd more and more toward the 


Milky Way. 


ENUMERATION OF TYPES IN GALACTIC ZONES. 


l [TrwG e 
Zone. Limits. VPM BE AWA BoM. | gh ae M | 
= | 
| ° ° | | i 
Keyan +10 to —10 | 237 422 142 | 103 937 33 | 
II +10 to +30 105 310 104 63 205 34 
Il +30 to +50 4 170 89 66 155 31 | 
IV +50 to +70 5 100 51 30 102 24 
Vv +70 to £90 2 32 13 12 | Son 5 | 
1 { 


RELATIVE AREAL DENSITIES IN PERCENTAGES. 


Zone. Limits. B A | F | GKM | 
} 
ene 
: 5 
ry States. Sto. PF") 100°" A s00" a! 5 * Foor 
II 410 to £30 47 78 78 87 
UI | +30 to +50 7 53 82 R4 | 
IV +50 to £70 5 47 72 84 | 
V £70 to £90 5 44 53 76 | 


In several respects the stars of class B are very remarkable. Dr. 
Campbell has stated that in a space concentric with the sun, which 
must contain hundreds of stars of other spectral classes, there would 
_ probably not be a single one of class B. Thus, B stars are, on the 
__ whole, excessively remote. In the second place, they seem to be very 
_ bright stars, for, as Prof. Pickering states, a count of the class B 


192 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


stars indicates that of the bright, visible stars one out of four belongs 
to this class, while of the stars of the sixth magnitude there is only 
1 out of 20, and that few, if any, would be found fainter than the 
seventh or eighth magnitude. 

It has been strongly intimated by such men as Kapteyn, Campbell, 
and Boss that the order of spectra B, A, F, G, K, M indicates sub- 
stantially the order of development of the stars in time, so that the 
stars of class B may be regarded as the younger stars, and those of 
classes A, F, G, K, and M, successively, older and older. Prof. Boss 
goes so far as to say: “ There can scarcely be a doubt that the same 
stars that are now seen of the spectral type A were in past ages of 
the spectral type B, and then at a mean velocity of approximately 
only two-thirds or three-fourths that which they have at present. It 
seems equally probable that A stars of the present will eventually 
become stars of the second type in the future, and along with that 
physical development will acquire an increase of mean velocity about 
50 per cent greater than that those stars now have. This fundamental 
fact of acceleration in the means of the stellar motions must have a 
vital bearing on questions of stellar development.” 

It is known that the spectrum of the general surface of the sun, 
which is like that of stars of class G, goes over into the spectrum of 
a sun spot, which is like that of stars of class K, by a mere lowering 
of temperature. It is also known of all bodies with which we are 
familiar upon the earth, that when, as time passes, they lose energy 
by radiation they cool. Accordingly it seems probable that stars of 
class G will at length reach the condition of class K by the mere 
cooling incidental to the continuation of their radiation to space 
through long periods of time. The gradual progress in form of 
spectrum from class B to class M, the gradual progress in velocity of 
motion from class B to class M, the gradual progress in distribution 
in space from class B to class M, and other lines of gradual progress 
which could be named, all seem to show that the arrangement of the 
stars according to this classification corresponds to the march of a 
fundamental progress in nature. That this progress is in point of 
time from stars of simpler spectrum to those of the more complex, 
and not the opposite, is indicated by the consideration with regard 
to the sun-spot spectrum which I have just cited. 

In contemplation of these various facts Prof. Campbell has re- 
marked as follows: 

The close relationship of the class B stars to the Milky Way, their low radial 
and tangential velocities, the apparent absence of class B stars in both near 
space and distant space, a clustering of many of these stars in apparently 


related groups—for example, in the Orion region—lead us to believe that the 
present class B stars assumed stellar form in regions relatively near their 


10f Secchi’s classification, in which B to F types are I, G to K are II, and M is III. 


PROGRESS IN ASTROPHYSICS——ABBOT, 193 


present positions. They may have originated from comparatively few great 
separate collections of matter in or near the plane of the Milky Way. The 
? variety of motions which we observe in the stars in one of these apparent 
groups might, perhaps, have originated from the influence of the passing of 
} many individual stars through the immense volume of space occupied by the 
group. The absence of class B stars in our vicinity may indicate primeval 
vacancy in this region, or the development of the stars in this region to an 
effective age beyond that corresponding to the class B spectrum. 


iS Kapteyn has said: 
} iy 


at one” that from whatever matter our youngest stars—the helium stars-— 
may ha.2 deen evolved, that matter must have in all probability still smaller 
internal motion. Let us eall this matter primordial matter. As the internal 
velocity of the helium stars is already so very small, we come to the conclu- 
sion that primordial matter must practically have hardly any other motion 
than the motion of the cloud to which it belongs. 


4 _ As the younger the stars are the smaller are their internal motions, it follows 
q 
(i 


The statements quoted above, and many others which might be 
quoted from astronomical literature, lead us to the conclusion that 
their writers assume the following evolution of the universe, begin- 
ning from the nebula, and proceeding with passing time to the stages 
of the classes B, A, F, G, K, M in spectra. Originally the matter 
had very low velocity in space, and as the stars were formed and 
q grew in age their velocity became greater and greater. Whatever 

the drift which the original primordial matter may have had, the 
_ formation of the stars and the gravitation which they mutually 
exert, together with their increasing velocity in space, tended to 
alter the motions of the stars from a slow drift in some particular 
direction to a much more rapid progress of individual stars in every 
conceivable direction. This motion naturally took the stars of the 
later types farther and farther from the original seat of the primor- 
dial matter, so that now, although we find the class B stars still 
mainly confined to the neighborhood of the Milky Way, yet for 
other types of stars the dispersion has gone farther and farther. 
_ For stars similar in constitution to our sun, and naturally of the 
same order of age as the sun, the circumstances of the wandering 
have naturally been much the same, so that we find the stars of ap- 
proximately the spectral class of our sun to be, on the whole, in the 
less remote parts of space. When, however, we consider the stars 
_ of most advanced type, of spectral class M, whose wanderings have 
continued for the most untold ages, we find these stars as a class in 
the more remote parts of the universe. 
Although this speculation is supported by a good many facts of 
observation yet it is only fair to state that there are astronomers 
q of very high eminence who consider either that the time is not ripe 
_ for such speculations, or that the evidence may equally well be 


1Class B. 
44868°-—sm 1913-13 


194 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


arranged to suit other conclusions. If we assume the line of specu- 
lation stated above we must be interested in the following statement 
of Prof. Kapteyn: 


There is another problem involved in our observations which might seem to 
be of no less importance than the one just now considered. How have we to 
explain the fact that the internal velocity of the stars increases with age? The 
astronomer who, in the study of the motion of the heavenly bodies, has found 
hardly a trace of any other force than gravitation, will naturally turn to gravi- 
tation for such an explanation; and it really seems a necessity that under the 
influence of their mutual gravitation, bodies which at the outset have little or 
no relative motion must get such a motion, which, up to a certain limit at least, 
will increase with time. Thus far there is no great difficulty. But now let us 
look further back in time, back to the time in which the stars had not yet been 
formed, in which matter was still in its primordial state. If it be true that 
mutual attraction of the stars has generated such an enormous amount of inter- 
nal motion in the time needed by the stars for their evolution from helium to sec- 
ond or third type stars, how have we to explain the fact that we find that same 
matter nearly at rest at the first stage of stellar life? That in the prehelium ages 
gravitation had produced hardly any motion? He who believes in a creation 
of matter at some finitely remote epoch may find no difficulty in the question, 
but to him who does not, there is something astonishing to see matter behave 
as if there were no gravitation. What may be the explanation? Is there really 
no gravitation in primordial matter, or is there another force exactly counter- 
balancing its effects? 

I have no solution to offer. I simply wish to point out that here is a great 
vroblem, which in my opinion deserves the attention of the physicist no less 
than that of the astronomer. 


Cerer ‘Aww onurg *y ‘y Aq uayRy, Mots] a, 


“JOOY 
3JHL NO AYOLVAYSSEO SIH DNIMOHS ‘GYOsSXO LV 3ASNOH S:ASTIVH 


"| 31v1d syaneg—'¢ 16] ‘Hoday uR}UOsy}IWS 


THE EARTH’S MAGNETISM. 


By L. A. BAUER, 


Director, Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution of 
Washington. 


[ With 9 plates. | 


It is indeed a great privilege and pleasure to give a lecture at Ox- 
ford, where Edmund Halley, whose name the founder has so wisely 
coupled with this lectureship, labored devotedly in the interest of 
science; and to be permitted, in some small measure, to pay the debt 
of terrestrial magnetism, and my own personal debt as well, tc this 
illustrious investigator. 

Halley’s varied scientific activity and his wide sympathies were well 
set forth by the Halley lecturer? of two years ago, who had as his 
subject an astronomical one, “ The stars in their courses.” Last year’s 
lecture,? “ Large earthquakes,” by that zealous pioneer, Prof. Milne, 
again exemplified both the scope of this lectureship and the fact that 
Halley’s interest and achievements in geophysical science, though not 
generally so well known as his astronomical discoveries, were no less 
great. The subject of the lecture to-night, “The earth’s magnetism,” 
is one in which Halley’s name stands out preeminent among the early 
students of the science. As it is a large subject and one in which there 
might be much discursive rambling, we shall do well to limit ourselves 
somewhat—to choose our starting point and then proceed in certain 
definite directions. 

The adopted flag of the Chinese Republic consists of five stripes, 
partly because, as I am told, in China all good things are five—five 
seasons, five principal grains, five genii, five relationships that make 
up life, and five points of the compass, north, south, east, west, and 
center. lor, to the Chinese, the starting-out point is as important as 
the point to which, or direction in which, a journey is made. So 
it also must be with us to-night. 


+The fourth “ Halley lecture,” delivered in the schools of the University of Oxford on 
_ May 22, 1913; illustrated by lantern slides. Reprinted, after revision by the author and 
_ with added illustrations, from Bedrock, vol. 2, No. 3, October, 1913, pp. 273-294. 

? Prof. H. H. Turner, D. Se., D.C. L., F.R.S., Savilian professor of astronomy, Univer- 
sity of Oxford (see Bedrock, vol. 1, No. 1, April, 1912, pp. 88-107). 
® Published in Bedrock, vol. 1, No. 2, July, 1912, pp. 137-156. 
195 


196 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


According to the regulations governing this lecture, it is to be 
known as the “Halley lecture on astronomy and terrestrial mag- 
netism.” “Astronomy shall include astrophysics, and terrestrial 
magnetism shall include the physics of the external and internal 
parts of the terrestrial globe.” This lecture might, therefore, with 
propriety cover the whole range of investigation in terrestrial and 
cosmical magnetism. However, we must limit ourselves to those 
particular lines of research in our subject in which Halley himself 
was chiefly interested. It so happens that these are the very lines 
also in which I have been given the opportunity to continue and 
expand the work begun by him. 

After Halley had made two attempts to establish a working 
theory respecting the distribution of terrestrial magnetism and the 
cause of its striking change with the lapse of years—the so-called 
secular variation—he must have reached the conclusion that the 
elusive problem of the earth’s magnetism would be more profitably 
advanced by additional facts than by further speculation. That, 
paraphrasing Seneca, to avoid making a false calculation of matters, 
it were better to advise with nature rather than with opinion. Ac- 
cordingly we find him setting out in October, 1698, in command 
of a sailing ship, the Paramour Pink, and cruising in her under 
orders from the British Government, back and forth, north and south, 
in the Atlantic Ocean for two years, observing almost daily, some- 
times several times in a day, the angle which the compass needle 
makes with the true north and south line—the angle known to the 
man of science as the magnetic declination, to the mariner and sur- 
veyor as the “ variation of the compass.” 

This is memorable as being the first scientific expedition sent out 
by any country with the specific object of improving existing knowl- 
edge regarding certain facts of the earth’s magnetism. Not until 
somewhat over two centuries later did it occur again, that a sail- 
ing ship traversed the oceans with the chief purpose of making 
magnetic observations.’ In July, 1905, there sailed from the port of 
San Francisco, Cal., a chartered sailing yacht, the Galilee, sent 
under the auspices of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, on 
the sole mission to determine the magnetic elements at sea, for 
the benefit of both the mariner and the man of science, as was also 
the purpose of Halley’s voyages. Four years later, in 1909, a 
specially built nonmagnetic vessel, likewise under the auspices of 
the Carnegie Institution of Washington, left New York for St. Johns, 
Newfoundland, and thence proceeded to Falmouth, along practically 


1 Valuable magnetic data have been secured by various expeditions since Halley’s time, 
but either the magnetic work was merely incidental or formed part of a general scientific 
program, or was combined with some geographical object such as Arctic or Antarctic 
exploration—the memorable Hrebus and Terror expeditions, for example, 


ee 


_— 


See EEE OE EG 


THE EARTH’S MAGNETISM—BAUER. 197 


the same track followed by Halley’s ship. Since then this vessel, 
the Carnegie, has circumnavigated the globe and has repeatedly 
intersected the course of the Paramour Pink in the Atlantic Ocean. 

In view of the historic interest thus attaching to Halley’s magnetic 
expedition, it will be well worth our while to use this as our starting 
point or center, the fifth point in the Chinese compass. The instruc- 
tions given Halley, as far as they pertained to his observational work, 
were as follows: 

Whereas his Majesty has been pleased to lend his Pink the Paramour for 
your proceeding with her on an expedition to improve the knowledge of the 
Longitude and variations of the Compasse, which shipp is now completely 
Man’d, Stored, and Victualled, at his Majesty’s charge for the said Expedition ; 
you are therefore hereby required and directed to proceed with her according 
to the following instructions :— 

You are to make the best of your way to the southward of the Equator, and 
there to observe on the East Coast of South America, and the West Coast of 
Africa, the variations of the Compasse with all the accuracy you can, as also 
the true situation both of Longitude and Latitude of the Ports where you 
arrive. 

You are likewise to make the like observations at as many of the islands in 
the seas between the aforesaid Coasts as you can (without too much deviation) 
bring into your Course; and, if the season of the year permit, you are to stand 
soe farr into the South till you discover the Coast of the Terra Incognita, sup- 
posed to lie between Mongolan’s Straits and the Cape cf Good Hope, which 
Coast you carefully lay down in its true position. In your return home you 
are to visit the English West India Plantations or as many of them as con- 
veniently you may, and in them make such observations as may contribute to 
lay them down truely in their Geographicall Situation. And in all the Course 
of your voyage you must be carefull to omit no opportunity of noting the varia- 
tion of the Compasse, of which you are te keep a Register in your Journal. 


Curiously enough, Halley, though a prominent member of the 
Royal Society, never contributed a paper to it, nor did he publish 
anything elsewhere cn these voyages of his, his observations, or 
resulting conclusions. Not until 1775 were Halley’s journal and 
observations published, and then by Alexander Dalrymple in his 
“Collection of Voyages chiefly in the Southern Atlantick Ocean,” 
from the manuscript in the possession of the Board of Longitude at 
London. Halley appears to have contented himself with laying down 
the results of his work on a chart entitled “A new and correct Sea 
Chart of the Whole World, showing the Variations of the Compass 
as they are found in the year 1700.” This chart is often briefly re- 
ferred to under the title “ Tabula Nautica.” The first edition, pub- 
lished probably in 1701, covered only the ocean—the Atlantic— 
traversed by Halley himself; for the later edition, as the chart was 
now to cover the greater part of the globe, he had to collect and 
utilize observations made by others. No printed reference to the 
early edition, either by Halley or by anyone else, prior to my dis- 


198 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


covery of a copy in the British Museum in 1895 has thus far come 
to light. Yet this particular chart, termed by me the “Atlantic 
Chart,” to distinguish it from the later one—the “ World Chart ”— 
is especially interesting, as it contains the routes followed by the 
Paramour Pink. Airy, when he reproduced Halley’s “ World Chart ” 
in the Greenwich observations of 1869, was seemingly not aware of 
the “Atlantic Chart.”* (See pl. 2.) 

The only description of Halley’s chart by himself, thus far found, 
is that either attached to certain editions of the chart or contained 
on an accompanying leaflet. This, however, is very brief, and was 
chiefly intended to instruct mariners in the use of the chart. Halley 
points out that in certain regions where the “ Curves ” run suitably 
they may be used “to estimate the Longitude at Sea thereby.” To 
his lines of equal “ magnetic variation” he gave no distinctive name, 
simply referring to them as the‘ Curve Lines.” Thus he says: “ What 
is here properly New is the Curve Lines drawn over the several Seas 
to show the degrees of the Variation of the Magnetical Needle or Sea 
Compass.” He does, however, use the term “ Line of No Variation.” 
For some time these lines were referred to by others as the “ Halleyan 
lines.” Hansteen a century later introduced the term “ isogonic lines,” 
which is now generally adopted. According to Hellmann, there is 
reason for believing that some attempts had been made before those 
of Halley to give on a globe or map a graphical representation of the 
direction in which a compass needle points. It is conceded, however, 
that Halley’s was the first successful attempt; his “ variation chart ” 
was the first magnetic chart based on sufficient observational data to 
give it immediately both practical and scientific value.? 

After the publication of his chart—the most important contribu- 
tion to the observation material of terrestrial magnetism at the 
time—Halley made no further attempt to establish a theory or to 
improve on his early magnetic speculations. He appears finally to 
have adopted the view so clearly formulated by Prof. Turner ?— 
that the perception of the need for observations, the faith that something will 
come of them, and the skill and energy to act on that faith—that these quali- 
ties, all of which are possessed by any observer worthy the name, have at least 


as much to do with the advance of science as the formulation of a theory, even 
of a correct theory. 


1Those interested in the history of the Halley charts may be referred to the various 
articles by L. A. Bauer in Nature, May 238, 1895, p. 79, and in Terrestrial Magnetism, 
January, 1896, and September, 1913; the last-named reference also contains a compilation 
by J. P. Ault and W. F. Wallis of the magnetic results obtained on Halley’s expedition. 

2Mountaine and Dodson, the authors of the second and revised edition (1744) of the 
Halley Chart, and of the third (1756), published in connection with the latter a small 
tract, “An account of the Methods used to describe Lines on Dr. Halley’s Chart of the 
terraqueous Globe, showing the variation of the magnetic needle about the year 1756 in 
all the known seas, London, 1758, 4°.”” This tract was again published in 1784. 

3 Pres. Address, Sec. A, Brit. Assoc. Adv. Sci., 1911. 


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Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Bauer. PEATE 5» 


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DUPERREY’S CHART OF THE MAGNETIC MERIDIANS FOR 1836. 


[If the earth were uniformly magnetized, its magnetic poles would be located diametrically 
opposite one another. However, because of the complexity of the earth’s magnetic condi- 
tion, the chord connecting the two poles passes through the earth 750 miles distant from the 
center. ; 


THE EARTH’S MAGNETISM—BAUER. 199 


We find Halley embracing every occasion— 


to recommend to all Masters of Ships and all others, Lovers of Natural Truths, 
that they use their utmost Diligence to make, or procure to be made, Observa- 
tions of these Variations in all parts of the World, and that they please to com- 
municate them to the Royal Society in order to leave as compleat a History as 
may be to those that are hereafter to compare all together and to compleat and 
perfect this abstruse Theory. 

Consulting the minutes of the Royal Society, it is found that 
Halley communicated, from time to time, the results of magnetic 
observations received from various expeditions, as aiso the values 
of the magnetic declination observed by himself, at London, viz: 

1701, May 7.—Mr. Halley tried the experiment of the Variation of the Needle 
this day with the two needles he had with him in his late, Voyage; and by the 
one the Variation was 7° 40’; by the other, 8° 00’ W. 

1702, July 8.—Mr. Halley observed the Variation of the Needle, which was 
found to be 83° Westward, or very near it. 

1716, May 24.—Dr. Halley reported that he had drawn a Meridian Line on the 
stone erected in the Society’s yard before the repository and that the Variation 
was found at present to be full twelve degrees. 

These observations of the magnetic declination of 1701, 1702, and 
1716 are perhaps printed here for the first time and are not found 
in any of the compilations of magnetic declinations at London pub- 
lished thus far. Only Halley’s earlier observations, namely, those 
of 1672 (2° 30’ W.), 1683 (4° 30’ W.), and of 1692 (6° 00’ W.), hav- 
ing been given by Halley himself in his printed papers of 1683 and 
1692, have become known to compilers. 


CHANGE OF THE MAGNETIC DECLINATION IN THE ATLANTIC OCHKAN 
SINCE HALLEY’S CHART. 


In view of the fact that the two vessels—the Paramour Pink and 
the Carnegie—both being primarily dependent for their motive 
power upon the prevailing winds in the Atlantic Ocean, have fol- 
lowed nearly identical courses, it will be a matter of no little inter- 
est to compare the values of the magnetic declination given on Hal- 
ley’s chart for 1700 with those obtained by the Carnegie in her 
cruises in 1909-10. We find first that over the entire Atlantic, from 
50° N. to 40° S., the north end of the compass needle in 1910 was to 
the west of the compass direction of 1700 by amounts varying with 
locality. Thus for various important ports the approximate change 
was as follows: New York, 2°.9 W.; St. Johns, Newfoundland, 14°.6 
W.; Falmouth, England, 10°.4 W.; Funchal, Madeira, 15°.6 W.; 
Bermuda, 10°.5 W.; Porto Rico, 7°.6 W.; Para, Brazil, 14°.6 W.; 
Rio de Janeiro, 20°.8 W.; Buenos Aires, 13°.0 W.; Cape Town, 
16°.2 W. 


200 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


If we follow a line passing through the points of maximum change 
in the Atlantic Ocean, we find for the following points: 


Values of the magnetic declination in 1700 and 1910. 


A Secular 
Latitude. Longitude. Tarstions Carnegie, change 
lh ath : (1910-1700). 

50°.4 N. 30°.4 W. 11°.3 W. 29°.5 W. 18°.2 W. 
35°.9 N. 47°.0 W. 4°0 W. 227.1 Wie 18°.1 W. 
21°.0 N. 30°.9 W. 0°.6 W. 19°.2 W. 18°.6 W. 

S°ON. | 35°38 W. 2°.5 E. 16°.5 W. 19°.0 W. 
40°.6 S. | 25°.2.W. 10°.7 E. 17°.5 W. 28°.2 W.. 


We see, accordingly, that the compass direction, in the course of 
time, suffers large changes; for the region and time interval con- 
sidered the changes vary from about 3° off New York to 28° in the 
Atlantic Ocean about midway between Buenos Aires and Cape Town. 
Even these amounts may not represent the total or maximum change 
during the period in question. 

Equally to be noted with these large changes with time is the 
important fact that the amount of change is as dependent upon 
locality as is the prevailing compass direction itself, which for over 
four centuries has been known to be anything but “ true to the pole.” 

We have thus had impressed upon us this important fact: Two 
sailing vessels cruising in the Atlantic Ocean from port to port— 
the one in 1700 and the other in 1910—were forced by the prevailing 
winds to follow very closely identical courses. If, however, these 
two vessels had been directed to follow certain definite magnetic 
courses, and if we may suppose that they had such motive power 
as to render them independent of the winds, then their respective 
paths would have diverged considerably. For example, if the 
Carnegie had set out from St. Johns, Newfoundland, to follow the 
same magnetic courses as those of the Paramour Pink, stead of 
coming to anchor in Falmouth Harbor (pl. 3),she would have madea 
landfall somewhere on the northwest coast of Scotland. In brief, 
while the sailing directions as governed by the winds over the 
Atlantic Ocean are the same now as they were during Halley’s time, 
the magnetic directions or bearings of the compass that a vessel 
must follow to reach a given port have greatly altered. To quote 
from the suggestive essay on terrestrial magnetism by John F. W. 
Herschel : * 


The configuration of our globe—the distribution of temperature in its in- 
terior, the tides and currents of the ocean, the general course of winds and the 
affections of climate—whatever slow changes may be induced in them by those 
revolutions which geology traces—yet remain for thousands of years appreciably 


1Bssays from the Edinburgh and Quarterly Reviews, with addresses and other pieces, 
by Sir John F. W. Herschel, London, 1857, pp. 69-70. 


THE EARTH’S MAGNETISM—BAUER. | 201 


constant. The monsoon, which favors or opposes the progress of the steamer 
along the Red Sea, is the same which wafted to and fro the ships of Solomon. 
Eternal snows occupy the same regions and whiten the same mountains, and 
springs well forth at the same elevated temperature, from the same sources, 
now as in the earliest recorded history. But the magnetic state of our globe 
is one of swift and ceaseless change. A few years suffice to alter materially 
and the lapse of half a century or a century to obliterate and completely re- 
model the form and situation of those lines on its surface which geometers have 
supposed to be drawn in order to give a general and graphical view of the 
direction and intensity of the magnetic forces at any given spoch. 


REGARDING LONGITUDE DETERMINATIONS AT SHA. 


One important result of Halley’s voyage and of the publication 
of his chart was the awakening of renewed interest in the improve- 
ment of methods for determining the longitude at sea. Recalling 
Halley’s instructions, we note that one of the objects of his expedi- 
tion was “ to improve the knowledge of the Longitude.” 

When the discovery was made that the magnetic declination varied 
from place to place, the idea immediately occurred to Columbus, as 
also to Cabot, that the longitude might be determined at sea by means 
of this fact. Antonio Pigafetta, who accompanied Magellan on 
his first voyage around the world in 1522, definitely proposed, in 
his book on navigation, this method of longitude determination. 
The line of no magnetic declination, which at that time passed 
through the Azores, was regarded as the natural meridian from 
which to count longitude. When later it was found, as was first re- 
marked by J. de Acosta in his Historia Natural: Sevilla, 1590, that 
there were four such lines, it was again thought that these quadrantal 
divisions could be utilized for reckoning longitudes. In 1674 Charles 
II appointed a commission to examine into the pretensions of a 
scheme devised by Henry Bond for ascertaining the longitude by 
the “variation of the compass.” 

Halley’s chart, however, definitely showed that it would be, in 
general, futile to attempt to determine the longitude by means of 
an element so variable and so irregular in its distribution as is the 
magnetic declination. Nevertheless, the hope that some magnetic 
phenomenon might yet serve to aid in the solution of this problem 
did not die immediately. 

In 1721 we find William Whiston, Newton’s successor at Cam- 
bridge, installing dip circles on a number of vessels, with instructions 
to observe diligently the magnetic dip in order to determine whether 
by means of this element the longitude could be better found at 
sea than by the magnetic declination; he likewise hoped thus to 
determine the latitude at sea. 

It is also interesting here to note that when Dr. Johnson was 


-at Oxford, he gave in 1756 to the Bodleian Library a thin quarto 


of 21 pages, entitled “An Account of an Attempt to ascertain the 


202 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


Longitude at Sea by an exact Theory of the Variation of the Mag- 
netical Needle, etc.,” by Zachariah Williams, published at London 
in 1755; Johnson entered it with his own hand in the library cata- 
logue. Boswell relates that Johnson himself wrote the English 
version for Williams, and, in order to make it more extensively 
known, also had an Italian translation prepared by his friend, 
Signor Baretti. 

For fully three centuries the idea that the longitude could be de- 
termined at sea with the aid of some magnetic element, though proved 
to be fallacious, served a most useful purpose by furnishing the nec- 
essary incentive to observe the magnetic elements. This is a striking 
illustration of the soundness of the position taken by Maxwell when 
he said: “TI never try to dissuade a man from trying an experiment; 
if he does not find what he wants, he may find out something else.” 
It was indeed true of these magnetic longitude seekers that they 
failed in their purpose, but they contributed data of inestimable 
value to the advancement of our knowledge of the earth’s magnetism. 

Before leaving this subject it might be said that Halley himself 
proposed an astronomical method for solving the longitude problem, 
and, with Newton, he was responsible for the act of 1714 offering a 
reward to any person who should devise a satisfactory method for 
the determination of the longitude at sea. He also improved some 
of the instruments used in navigation. 

Another result of Halley’s various voyages deserves mention here, 
though not immediately concerned with the subject of our lecture, 
namely, his theory of the cause of the trade winds. On certain 
editions of his Variation Chart there was given, in addition to the 
lines of equal magnetic variation, a “ View of the Generall and Coast- 
ing Trade Winds and Monsoons or Shifting Trade Winds.” 


COMPLEXITY OF THE EARTH’S MAGNETISM. 


Reference has already been made to Halley’s attempts, before his 
magnetic expedition, to establish a theory respecting the phenomena 
of the compass needle. Thus in 1683 he published in the Philo- 
sophical Transactions of the Royal Society “A Theory of the Varia- 
tion of the Magnetical Compass,” and in 1692, in the same Transac- 
tions, “An Account of the Cause of the Change of the Variation of 
the Magnetic Needle.” 

In these papers Halley rejected the hypothesis which had been 
accepted up to that time, and on the basis of which elaborate tables 
of the magnetic declination had been constructed by previous investi- 
gators, namely, that the directions assumed by a compass needle in 
various parts of the earth could be accounted for by a simple magnet- 


1See Miscellanea Curiosa, yol. I, pp. 61-80, and pl. 2, 


THE EARTH ’S MAGNETISM—BAUER. 208 


ization parallel to a diameter so that the magnetic poles would be 
diametrically opposite to each other. While the conclusion reached 
by him that “ the whole Globe of the Earth is one great Magnet hav- 
ing four Magnetical Poles, or Points of Attraction, near each Pole of 
the Equator Two,” has, in a certain sense, been found to be incorrect 
nevertheless, this view appears to have been the first definite recog- 
nition of the heterogeneity or complexity of the earth’s magnetic 
condition. 

The increased knowledge gained from magnetic surveys since 
Halley’s time has taught that the more carefully a country has been 
explored, i. e., the nearer together the points at which the magnetic 
elements have been determined, the greater is the number of irregu- 
larities usually shown by the so-called isomagnetic lines; indeed, re- 
gions have been found where no system of lines can adequately and 
correctly represent the prevailing magnetic conditions. We have 
learned that the regularities in the distribution of the earth’s mag- 
netism, far from being normal features, as was once thought, are, 
instead, the abnormal ones, and that the irregularities are the normal 
and to-be-expected phenomena. 

The magnetic forces, as measured at any given point on the earth’s 
surface, appear, according to various analyses, to be the resultant 
effects of (1) a general or terrestrial magnetic field due to the general 
magnetic condition of the whole earth; (2) a general terrestrial dis- 
turbing cause which distorts at the place of observation the general 
magnetic condition of the earth; (3) a disturbing effect continental 
in extent; (4) a regional disturbance effect due to low-lying mag- 
netized substances; and (5) a local disturbance due to the magnetized 
masses in the immediate vicinity. 

No formula has as yet been established which will represent the 
observational facts within the error of observation, in fact not even 
with sufficient accuracy for the practical purposes of the surveyor 
and of the mariner. 


THE BHARTH’S MAGNETIC POLES. 


We have noticed that Halley, as the result of his study of the 
observations of the magnetic declination, as far as they had become 
known up to 1683, reached the conclusion that the earth had “ four 
Magnetical Poles or Points of Attraction.” Some confusion has 
arisen as to the precise meaning which Halley attached to his “ poles.” 
Owing to his alternative term—* Points of Attraction ”—certain 
eminent writers have sought to identify Halley’s supposed four mag- 
netic poles with the four foci of maximum total magnetic force, 
whose existence appeared to be indicated when, near the middle 


_ of the nineteenth century, it became possible to construct a chart of 
_ the lines of equal magnetic force. By this incorrect inference these 


204 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


authors have unwittingly credited Halley with a discovery which, 
in the absence at the time of any observation whatsoever respecting 
the strength of the earth’s magnetic force, he could not possibly 
have made. The real merit and purport of Halley’s deduction has 
thereby been obscured. The observation material at Halley’s dis- 
posal, before he himself enriched the material during his voyages, 
consisted of some miscellaneous observations of the compass direction 
and a few values of the magnetic dip. As has been said, there were 
no observations of the magnetic force, for the art of measuring this 
element had not yet become known. 

Scrutinizing carefully his scanty observation material, Halley no- 
ticed that the direction of the compass needle did not change from 
place to place in the simple way it would if, for example, the earth 
had two magnetic poles diametrically opposite each other. In the 
latter case the needle would set itself tangent to the great circle pass- 
ing through the magnetic poles and the place of observation. If, 
then, the compass direction were known at two places sufficiently 
far apart the points of intersection of the two great circles drawn 
respectively tangent to these compass directions would be the two 
diametrically opposite magnetic poles. It is such points of inter- 
section—“ points of convergence,” as Hansteen later called them— 
which Halley had in mind as “ Magnetic Poles.” He was the first 
to perceive clearly the fact—abundantly verified since—that the 
various points of convergence as found from successive pairs of 
compass directions, in the manner just described, do not fall together 
as they should on the basis of a simple or regular magnetization of 
the earth. However, it appeared to Halley, and the same conclusion 
was reached over 100 years later by the illustrious Norwegian mag- 
netician, Hansteen, that the several points of convergence grouped 
themselves in a general way about two main centers— 


near each Pole of the Equator Two, and that in those parts of the World which 
lie near adjacent to any one of those Magnetical Poles the Needle is govern’d 
thereby, the nearest Pole being always predominant over the more remote. 


Tt will not be well to lay greater stress upon this deduction nor 
upon those in his 1692 paper, where he seeks to account for the exist- 
ence of his four “‘ Magnetic Poles ” and for the secular variation than 
to say that Halley drew the best possible conclusions the material at 
his disposal permitted. In fact, his conclusions were not materially 
improved upon until a century and a half later, when a much more 
complete knowledge of the distribution of the earth’s magnetism 
had been gained and when the various mathematical attempts which 
had been made to compute the magnetic elements on the basis of 
more or less intricate hypotheses as to the earth’s magnetization, 
had been found to be inadequate. Some later investigators, indeed, 


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Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Bauer. PLATE 5. 


DUPERREY’S CHART OF THE MAGNETIC MERIDIANS FOR 1836. 


[If the earth were uniformly magnetized, its magnetic poles would be located diametrically 
opposite one another. However, because of the complexity of the earth’s magnetic condi- 
tion, the chord connecting the two poles passes through the earth 750 miles distant from the 
center. | 


THE EARTH ’S MAGNETISM—-BAUER. 205 


might have spared themselves considerable pains had they previously 
familiarized themselves more thoroughly with Halley’s work. 

When we to-day speak of the earth’s magnetic poles, it is generally 
recognized that those points on the earth’s surface are meant where 
the dipping needle stands precisely vertical and where the magnetic 
dip is accordingly 90°. This definition permits, with the aid of the 
dipping needle, of a precise determination of the magnetic poles, 
though, of course, it must not be understood that these poles are 
mathematical points; the area over which the dip may be found to 
be 90°, within the instrumental means of determination, may, in fact, 
be several miles square. A more or less extensive magnetic survey of 
the region round about would be required to eliminate the possibility 
of disturbing influences owing to local deposits of iron ore. At these 
“ Poles,” since the magnetic force exerted by the earth is all up and 
down, with no side component, a compass needle would have no 
directive force acting upon it. Some distance before reaching the 
magnetic pole it would become sluggish, and directly over the pole 
itself it would be of no more use than a brass needle to indicate any 
definite direction. (For chart of the magnetic meridian, see pl. 5.) 

Excluding for the present the purely “ local magnetic poles ” (pl. 8, 
fig. 2) caused by extraordinary local deposits of attracting masses, all 
observations to date show that there are but two such points (or areas) 
where the dipping needle stands vertical, one in the Northern Hemis- 
phere, located by Capt. James Clark Ross in June, 1831, in latitude 
70°.1 north and longitude 96°.8 west (pl. 6, fig. 2),t and the other in 
the Southern Hemisphere, lying, according to the observations of the 
recent Antarctic expeditions, about in latitude 72°.7 south and longi- 
tude 156° east. The magnetic poles, therefore, are, on the average, 
about 1,200 miles from the geographical poles. Owing to the asym- 
metrical distribution of the earth’s magnetism, the magnetic poles are 
not diametrically opposite each other, even if the positions given 
applied to the same year; in fact, the perpendicular distance from the 
earth’s center to the chord connecting the magnetic poles is about 
750 miles. 

Let us suppose, now, that one explorer starts out from Oxford, 
where the compass points at present about 16° west, and follows 
always the direction shown by the north end of the compass needle, 
whereas another starts north from Washington, where the compass 
bears about 5° west, and follows likewise the direction of the compass 
needle. The paths thus traced out by them are the so-called “ mag- 
netic meridians,” which, owing to the irregular way in which the 
earth is magnetized, would not be straight lines or arcs of great 


1During Capt. Amundsen’s completion of the Northwest Passage, 1903-1907, he also 
made observations with a view to locating the north magnetic pole, but the resulting 
position has not yet been published, 


206 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


circles, but more or less devious lines. Could these magnetic merid- 
ians be followed into the Arctic regions, they would be found to 
intersect at the north magnetic pole. 

Owing to the irregular distribution of the earth’s magnetism, the 
points of greatest intensity of the total magnetic force depart widely 
in their locations from the magnetic poles. Thus there are in the 
Northern Hemisphere two distinct maxima of total magnetic force, 
one in the northeast of Siberia and the other in Canada to the south- 
west, approximately, of Hudson Bay. A magnetic survey of the 
latter region is being made this summer by an expedition sent out 
by the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism. 


DO THE MAGNETIC POLES MOVE? 


Possibly the most frequent question asked of those engaged in 
magnetic work is: “ Do the magnetic poles move with the lapse of 
years, and if so, why?” Unfortunately, as has already been shown, 
there are no direct observations as yet on which to base a definite 
statement. But it would be singular, indeed, if these points remained 
fixed and were not affected by fluctuations such as are now known 
from three centuries of observations to exist in every one of the 
earth’s magnetic phenomena. It is quite possible, in fact, that the 
magnetic poles pass through certain motions even in the course of 
a day or suffer displacements during magnetic storms. 

The diagram (pl. 6, fig. 1) shows the changes in the direction of the 
compass (magnetic declination), as well as in the direction of the dip 
needle (magnetic inclination), as far as known, for London, Balti- 
more, and Boston. Imagine yourself, if you will, standing at the 
center of a great magnetized needle so suspended as to be free to 
assume the direction actually taken by the lines of magnetic force at 
the place of observation, and let us suppose you are looking toward 
the north-pointing end of the needle. Could you gaze long enough, 
you would see a curve described in space by the observed end of the 
needle. This curve would lie on a sphere whose radius is the half- 
length of the suspended needle and for graphical representation we 
may take a central projection of it on a plane tangent to the sphere 
at about the middle point of the curve. The curves here given were 
constructed by me with the aid of the accumulated observations up to 
about 1895; the course followed by the needle since 1895 will be dis- 
cussed later. (PI. 6, fig. 1.) 

A number of intefesting and instructive facts follow from these 
curves; time will permit us to give our attention only to the chief 
ones. It is seen that at London, for example, the compass reached 
its maximum easterly direction of about 11° in the year 1580, hence 
during the middle of Queen Elizabeth’s reign; thereafter the easterly 


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PLATE 6. 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Bauer. 


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THE EARTH’S MAGNETISM—BAUER. 207 


direction began to diminish until] about 1658, the year of Cromwell’s 
death, when the needle bore due north and then swung over to the 
west, continuing to do so until it reached a maximum westerly direc- 
tion of somewhat over 24° in about 1812. Hence in the interval of 
about 232 years (1580-1812) the compass direction changed at Lon- 
don from 11° E. to 24° W., or 35°. At the present time it points 
about 154° W., or nearly 9° less than in 1812, and a most interesting 
question doubtless immediately occurs to all of us: Will the freely 
suspended magnetic needle ever return precisely to a direction taken 
at some previous time, or is there any definite cycle of changes which 
will repeat itself from time to time? 

Here again no wholly definite answer can be given, primarily 
because of the fact, as will be seen from the diagram, that, if there 
be such a cycle, it embraces many more years than are covered thus 
far by the interval of observation. For some European stations, 
e. g., Paris and Rome, the observation interval is somewhat longer 
than at London, but still not long enough for definite prediction as 
to the future course of the magnetic needle. 

The diagram shows also that in the United States the changes 
in the compass direction, as far back as they are known, have not 
been as great as those during the same time at London. Thus, at 
Baltimore, for example, the compass appears to have reached a 
maximum westerly amount of about 6.1° near 1670, and a minimum 
of 2° in 1802, after which, instead of passing through a zero value as 
at London in 1658, and swinging to the eastward, it turned back and 
began to increase its westerly direction until at the present time the 
amount is about 64°. Thus, at this station the compass direction 
passed from a maximum to a minimum in about 132 years and the 
total change was but 54°, or only one-sixth to one-seventh of that 
at London. 

In brief, the facts revealed by the known compass changes in 
my country can not be brought in harmony with those witnessed in 
your country, unless we assume that the length of the cycle of 
complete change is many times longer than merely twice the period 
between 2 maximum and a minimum bearing of the compass.. There 
are evidences futhermore, into which we can not go here, to indicate 
that the cycle of change at one station is not of the type which 
would result were we to close the apparently nearly completed 
curve at London by uniting the two ends in some simple manner. 
On the contrary, the evidences point to cycles within cycles and to 

_ the probability that the secular variation curve, instead of being a 
single closed curve, may consist of smaller loops within a larger one, 
 etc.; it is even questionable whether there ever will be exact closure 
of the curve. 


208 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


There is at present another matter of no little interest with regard 
to England which should be pointed out here. It will be seen from 
the London curve that the dip of the needle below the horizon 
reached its maximum amount of 74.4° in about 1688. At this time 
the compass changed its direction the maximum amount of 13’ per 
year. The curve would seem to indicate that the time of a minimum 
dip is now approaching; this phase has already occurred at Pawlowsk 
and seems to be now taking place at Potsdam and is traveling west- 
ward. Whether it will reach London and when can not be answered 
definitely. However, it is a matter of no little interest, in this 
connection, to observe that the annual amount of change in the 
compass direction has in recent years received a remarkable accelera- 
tion in this part of the earth. Thus, as is shown by the magnetic 
observatory records, it has almost steadily risen from 4’ per year in 
1902 to about 9’ per year in 1912. Whether this portends an early 
approach of the phase of minimum dip at London is one of the many 
interesting questions continually arising respecting the perplexing 
phenomena of the earth’s magnetism. The course of the needle 
since 1890 has been about as shown by the arrow; thus in 1910 the 
magnetic declination was approximately 15.9° W. and the dip was 
66.9°. 

One thing more. Note that for each of the three curves as far 
as drawn, the motion of the freely suspended magnetic needle has 
been clockwise, i. e., the same as the motion of the hands of a watch. 
This fact, as shown by the curves in other parts of the world, con- 
structed with the aid of the available observations, appears to hold 
generally in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, except 
for certain retrograde motions which thus far have not been of the 
same extent as the direct one, although, of course, it is not affirmed 
that they may not become so later. Such retrograde motions are 
at present being experienced in certain parts of the United States. 
Thus, for example, the compass pointed in 1910 6.25° W. at Balti- 
more and 13.35° W. at Boston, and in the same year the magnetic 
dip was 70.9° at Baltimore and 73.1° at Boston. If we plot these 
values on the diagram, we shall find that the curves for Boston and 
Baltimore, instead of progressing in the direction of the arrows, 
passed through a secondary crest about 1895 and then bent over to 
the left; how long this will continue can not be foretold. 

The question as to the cause of the remarkable changes from time 
to time in the earth’s magnetic condition, as indicated by these curves, 
has been a fruitful source of speculation since 1634, when Gellibrand 
definitely proved the fact that the compass direction varies from 
year to year. Some of the best minds have been engaged with the 
discovery of the cause, but the riddle is still unsolved. Hence as 
regards the actual motions of the earth’s magnetic poles and the 


THE EARTH’S MAGNETISM—BAUER. 209 


precise cause or causes, we may still say with Halley that these are 
“Secrets as yet utterly unknown to Mankind, and are reserv’d for 
the Industry of future Ages.” 

A mathematical analysis of the accumulated material shows that, 
in order to find an adequate explanation of the secular variation of 
the earth’s magnetism, we must reckon with systems of magnetic 
or electric forces having their seats both below and above the earth’s 
crust. There would also appear to be some evidence that in addi- 
tion to a motion of the magnetic poles or magnetic axes of the earth, 
we may also have to take into account a possible diminution in the 
earth’s magnetic moment or intensity of magnetization. 


THE ORIGIN OF THH EARTH’S MAGNETISM. 


Before concluding this lecture, we ought, perhaps, in the few min- 
utes remaining, to say something regarding the status of the ever- 
recurring question as to the origin of the earth’s magnetism. Assum- 
ing that the magnetism of our planet is uniformly distributed 
throughout its mass, it is found that the average intensity of mag- 
netization is only about one ten-thousandth of very highly magnet- 
ized hard steel. Prof. Fleming, in his very suggestive popular 
lecture on the “ Earth, a great magnet,” given at the meeting in 1896 
of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, made 
this statement : 

Taken as a whole, the earth is a feeble magnet. If our globe were wholly 
made of steel and magnetized as highly as an ordinary steel-bar magnet, the 
magnetic forces at its surface would be at least 100 times as great as they are 
now. That might be an advantage or a very great disadvantage. 

If, however, we could penetrate the earth’s crust we would find 
at a distance of only about 12 miles a temperature so great that, 
according to present laboratory facts, all magnetization would neces- 
sarily cease. Hence, if the earth’s magnetic field arises from an ac- 
tual magnetization of the substances composing the earth, these sub- 
stances must be confined within a comparatively thin shell. But 
the question immediately arises: Is this argument correct? May it 
not be that just as the point of liquefaction is raised by increased 
pressure, so is also the critical temperature of magnetization. It 
may thus occur that the effect due to increase of pressure with depth 
of penetration more than balances that due to increased temperature. 
There are at present no wholly decisive experiments which may be 
drawn upon to answer this query. 

The hypothesis that the earth may be an electromagnet also meets 
with difficulties when we attempt to account for the origin, direction, 
and maintenance of the required currents. In spite of the accumu- 
lated facts of over three centuries, we are still unable to say definitely 
to what the earth’s magnetic field is really due. Perhaps we may 

44863°—sm 191314 


210 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


not be able to solve the riddle until the physicist answers for us the 
questions: What is a magnet? What is magnetism in general? 

In the Devil’s Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce, published in 1911, 
the following definitions are given: “ Magnet, n.—Something acted 
upon by magnetism. Magnetism, n—Something acting upon a 
magnet.” In explanation the author cynically remarks: “The two 
definitions immediately foregoing are condensed from the works of 
1,000 eminent scientists, who have illuminated the subject with a 
ereat white light, to the inexpressible advancement of human 
knowledge.” 4 

A line of thought first suggested by Schuster and Lord Kelvin, 
that every large rotating mass, due to an as yet undiscovered cause, 
may be a magnet, should be considered in conclusion, though we 
may do so but briefly. If this be true, then magnetism is not confined 
to our planet alone, but all celestial bodies are surrounded by mag- 
netic fields. Thus far no laboratory experiment, possibly owing to 
lack of required sensitiveness in the measuring instruments, has 
detected any magnetic field arising solely from rotation. Schuster 
and Swann have recently discussed the character and magnitude of 
the effects from the possible causes which may operate if the earth’s 
magnetic field be related in some manner to its rotation. 

In 1900-1903 Sutherland propounded a theory for the origin of 
the earth’s magnetism, which, briefly stated, is this: We know that 
electricity is an essential constituent of matter, and that in every 
atom, if it be electrically neutral, there are equal amounts of nega- 
tive and positive electricity. So with the whole earth. Since it is 
almost electrically neutral, suppose that the total negative charge, 
while practically equal to the total positive one, occupies a slightly 
different volume from that of the positive charge, or, in brief, that 
the volume densities of the two body charges differ slightly, then, 
because of the rotation of the electric charges with the earth, a mag- 
netic field arises. I have recently repeated Sutherland’s calcula- 
tions and, as I had previously found that the earth’s intensity of 
magnetization increased systematically toward the Equator, I have 
included a term to represent such a possible effect. The computa- 
tions show that to satisfy the known phenomena of the earth’s mag- 
netism, the volume density of the negative charge must be smaller 


1 These definitions and accompanying remarks may have had their origin in the follow- 
ing interesting anecdote told in the American Review of Reviews for August, 1909, of the 
late Prof. Simon Newcomb, by Mr. A. E. Bostwick, associate editor of the Standard Dic- 
tionary. Of the definitions in physical science for this dictionary Newcomb had general 
oversight, and on one occasion he took exception to the definitions framed for the words 
“magnet”? and ‘‘ magnetism” as based, in the absence of authoritative knowledge of 
the causes, simply upon the properties manifested by the things. After writing and 
erasing alternately for an hour or more, he finally confessed, however, with a hearty 
laugh, that he himself could offer nothing better than the following pair of definitions: 
“Magnet, a body capaple of exerting magnetic force; and magnetic force, the force 
exerted by a magnet.” 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Bauer. PLATE 8, 


Fic. 1.—THE AURORA BOREALIS AS FIRST SUCCESSFULLY PHOTOGRAPHED BY 
PROF. CARL STOERMER. 


[Halley was the first to suggest a connection between polar lights and the earth’s 
magnetism. } 


Fia. 2.—A LocAL MAGNETIC NORTH POLE AT TREADWELL POINT, NEAR 
JUNEAU, ALASKA, AS DISCLOSED By L. A. BAUER’S OBSERVATIONS IN 
1900 AND 1907. 


{In the center of the tent the dipping needle stood vertical, with the north end dow ni, 
and the compass reversed its direction when carried from one side of the tent to 
the other. Ships’ compasses, a mile away, in Gastineaux Channel, are deflected 
about 11°. ] 


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THE EARTH ’S MAGNETISM—BAUER. 211 


than that of the positive, or, in other words, the earth’s total negative 
charge must be distributed through the larger sphere, and, if that be 
the whole earth itself, then for the chief term involved in the mag- 
netic potential, the surface of the sphere’ containing the positive 
charge need be, on the average, only 0.410-° cms., i. e. four-tenths 
of the radius of an ordinary molecule, below that of the earth’s 
surface to give a magnetic field of the required strength. Taking the 
average atomic weight of the earth’s substance in round numbers as 
50, the mean volume density of either charge would be about 3.310” 
electrostatic units. 

At present there is little hope that a magnetic field, caused just as 
supposed, can be detected in the laboratory. For a sphere of 15 centi- 
meters radius, rotating 100 times a second, the magnetic intensity at 
the poles would be but one hundred-millionth part (10-*) of that of 
the earth. We thus see that the quantities involved in the solution 
of one of the great problems confronting the student of the earth’s 
physics—the origin of the earth’s magnetic field—may be of such a 
minute order as to be beyond the ken at present of the laboratory 
experimentalist. Perhaps the effects become appreciable in the case 
of the earth because of the fortunate fact that it is a body of suffi- 
cient size and angular velocity. 

On the other hand, the geophysicist is at a great disadvantage in 
that he is unable to bring his earth-magnet into the laboratory and 
to experiment upon it—to reverse the direction of rotation, for 
example, and see what would happen! Fortunately for him, how- 
ever, nature comes to his relief somewhat and performs experiments 
for him on his great magnet on a world-wide scale, by producing 
in an incredibly short time manifold and at times startling varia- 
tions and fluctuations in the apparently fixed magnetization of the 
earth. Thus, on September 25, 1909, there occurred the most re- 
markable magnetic storm on record, during which, within a few 
minutes, the earth’s magnetic movement, or intensity of magnetiza- 
tion, was altered by about one-twentieth to one-thirtieth part. The 
earth’s magnetic condition was below par for fully three months 
thereafter. As this severe storm was accompanied by a brilliant dis- 
play of polar lights, this is the most appropriate place to recall that 
Halley made the first suggestion of a connection between the aurora 
borealis and the earth’s magnetism. (PI. 8, fig. 1.) 

It is firmly believed that a long step forward will have been taken 
toward the discovery of the origin of the earth’s magnetism when 
once we have found out what causes it to vary in the surprising 
manner shown by the secular or long-period changes, by the magnetic 
storms, and the numerous other fluctuations, such as the diurnal 
variation, for example. The keynote of modern investigation in 


212 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


terrestrial magnetism, as in the biological sciences, must surely be 
the study of the variations and mutations! 

Ts it not probable that the very features of the earth’s magnetism 
regarded at one time as defects—the “constant inconstancies,” as 
an early writer quaintly put it—will instead become sources of help 
and inspiration from totally different points of view or in some 
entirely different line of thought? Who knows of what import the 
riddles of the earth’s magnetism, characterized by eminent physicists 
as being, next to gravity, the most puzzling of natural forces, may 
be, not simply to the magnetician alone, but to all interested in the 
steady progress of the physical sciences? Thus Schuster suggests 
that “ atmospheric electricity and terrestrial magnetism, treated too 
long as isolated phenomena, may give us hints on hitherto unknown 
properties of matter.” “The field of investigation into which we 
are introduced,” says Maxwell, “by the study of terrestrial mag- 
netism, is as profound as it is extensive.” And, says Sabine, one of 
England’s greatest and most enthusiastic magneticians, “ Viewed 
in itself and its various relations, the magnetism of the earth can 
not be counted less than one of the most important branches of the 
physical history of the planet we inhabit.” 


MODERN IDEAS ON THE END OF THE WORLD.'! 


By Gustav JAUMANN, 


Professor of Physics at the Technical High School at Briinn. 


We are totally ignorant of the beginning of the world. During 
the last century the hypothesis of Laplace and Kant that the planets 
proceeded from the sun and were cast off by the rotation of it enjoyed 
wide credence. According to this theory our earth was once ina state 
of glowing liquid. Judging by the increase in temperature in the 
deep strata, it is covered at the present time by the solidified crust, 
relatively very thin, on which we live. Such a conception has ren- 
dered plausible a belief in the deluge and in the idea of a final day 
of judgment when the world will be devoured by flames. 

Geology, indeed, records horrible catastrophes: the highest moun- 
tains were formed by a single short earthquake of tremendous vio- 
lence, the result of upheavals of granitic magma. By enormous 
volcanic eruptions erratic blocks were carried thousands of kilometers. 
In particular the whole of Asia suffered the invasion of the Indian 
Ocean, which was precipitated on the continent with inconceivable 
violence, sufficient to carry the rhinoceros and the mammoth, which 
are considered Indian animals, as far as the frozen fields of Siberia. 
Cuvier affirmed not only that the world would be destroyed some 
thousands of years hence, but that it has already many times under- 
gone like cataclysms, each geologic formation constituting the burial 
place of a creation entirely separate in origin. According to this 
hypothesis, the termination of each geologic period has been marked 
by a complete ending of the world, and the opening of each succeed- 
ing period by a special creative act giving birth to a new fauna 
more perfect but equally incapable of evolution. By the side of 
the brilliant Cuvier lived, obscure and unknown, the much greater 

Lamarck. It is he who recognized the continuous evolution of the 
_ faunas in accordance with an immanent law, or at least in conse- 
| quence of the capacity which organisms possess of perfecting them- 


1 Inaugural address of the rector of the Imperial German Franz-Joseph Technical High 
School at Briinn, delivered on October 26, 1912. Translated from the German, pub- 
lished by the technical high school, by permission of Prof. Jaumann., 


213 


914 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


selves by assiduous exercise and by communicating in part to their 
descendants the improvements thus acquired. It is this way of 
thinking which, after a turn toward Darwinism,' has finally estab- 
lished itself. Now, to permit such an evolution of the organic 
world, from the beginnings to its actual perfection, requires a consid- 
erable duration of cosmic quiet. Geologic investigations since Lyell 
have indeed demonstrated that the passage from each geologic forma- 
tion to that succeeding it is made gradually and without interruption. 
The inundations and volcanic catastrophes which are produced at all 
times, far from destroying worlds, have never been more than purely 
local. Volcanic eruptions are not the index of a fluid and incan- 
descent nucleus, for the accumulations of liquid lava have little 
extension, so that even neighboring volcanoes, such as Vuleano and 
Stromboli, have no relation to each other. One can even affirm that 
the fiuid incandescent nucleus of the earth does not exist. Recent 
physical observations, especially those relative to the transmission 
of the transverse seismical waves through the interior of the earth 
and to the period of migration of the terrestrial axis, admit of the 
conclusion that the earth in its entire mass is as elastic as a steel of 
good quality. 

But now we must observe the very disquieting previsions of the 
exact sciences. These we must notice particularly, for physics and 
astronomy have exact natural laws, and in this way may be predicted 
in all probability the most distant consequences, for the laws which 
are concerned here, that of gravitation and that of the conservation 
of energy, are among the ones most firmly established. 

The real achievement of Newton was to show that the law of 
gravitation had a more exact application than the laws of Kepler 
according to which the planets move along their elliptical orbits.?, In 
reality the planets do not describe strictly elliptical trajectories. 
The form and the position of these trajectories change constantly, 
although with extreme slowness. The law of Newton affords an 
explanation of the greater part of these divergences, if the reciprocal 


1In this connection we designate as Darwinism only that part of Darwin’s teachings 
which originated with himself; not the evolution theory, which is due for the most part 
to Lamarck, but rather the theory of selection, according to which there could not be 
any evolution of the organic world without the influence of selection in connection with 
the struggle for existence. 

2The law of gravitation itself was not originated by Newton, but by Kepler, whose 
ideas exerted a powerful influence on Hooke, Halley, and Fermat. It was first formu- 
lated mathematically by Wren, whose physical work was otherwise unimportant. Newton 
only contributed proof of its correctness. 

Kepler originated the fundamental and extraordinary new conception “ Virtutem, quae 
planetas movet, residere in corpore Solis’’ (‘‘'The power which moves the planets resides 
in the mass of the sun’’—heading of ch. 33 in Kepler’s “Astronomia Nova.’’ See “ Jo. 
Kepleri Opera Omnia,” Frisch’s edition, vol. 8, p. 300). He also originated the idea of 
the field of gravitation, in which the force diminishes with the distance from the sun, 
and the idea of universal gravitation. Had Galileo’s dynamics controlled Kepler as it did 
Huyghens, he would not have needed half his genius to have anticipated Newton’s con- 
tributions to the subject. 


MODERN IDEAS ON THE END OF THE WORLD—-JAUMANN. 215 


attractions of the planets are taken into consideration. Taking 
these deviations into consideration, it is possible at present to calcu- 
late to within a few seconds the positions of the sun, the moon, and 
the planets a hundred years in advance. But to determine at a dis- 
tance of millions of years the end of the Newtonian world enormous 
mathematical difficulties must be overcome; indeed, it is a matter 
concerning the problem of the stability of the planetary system and 
of calculating whether the disturbing influences, weak but incessant, 
which the planets exercise upon each other will nearly counteract 
each other in time or will end by entailing the destruction of the 
planetary system. 

Eminent scholars have always taxed themselves with resolving this 
fundamental problem relative to the stability of the world. Laplace 
and Lagrange showed, by means of an approximate calculation, that 
the planetary system of Newton appeared to be stable. Poisson 
demonstrated that by further refining the calculation later epochs 
could be surveyed, in which greater and greater fiuctuations in the 
form of the planetary orbits were present. Finally Poincaré proved 
that by carrying the calculation to its limit, a future time was dis- 
closed in which the planets would experience unlimited, progressive, 
so-called secular disturbances and, finally, some of them would fall 
into the sun, and others lose themselves in the cold of cosmic space. 
Thus, the planetary system of Newton has no stability, no internal 
constancy. But the foregoing calculations were made on much too 
favorable a basis. Cosmic space can not be empty, as Newton held. 
Since it can transmit light, it must be filled with a medium, ex- 
tremely tenuous and cold, called cosmic ether. The extreme vacuum 
obtained in the laboratory, cooled to —170° C., presents a con- 
siderable viscosity, which is only ten times inferior to that of the 
normal air.t_ Consequently, the cosmic ether must oppose to the 
movement of the planets a very appreciable frictional resistance. 
They must continually lose energy of motion; in addition to which, 
the attractive action of the sun becoming more and more considerable, 
the planets should describe orbits more and more narrow and should 
end, in some millions of years, by precipitating themselves into it. 
Thus, again, we have the “igneous” death of the earth. But that 
end would be preceded by the destruction of the terrestrial organisms, 
all being menaced by death from the cold, which would set in much 
earlier. 

1This extreme vacuum at —170° C. has the modulus of viscosity 2X10°% c.g. s. To 
overcome the resistance that the ether offers to our earth would require more than 
150,000,000 horsepower. Meteorites must glow in the ether if their diameter be less than 
50 cm. As a matter of fact, a glowing meteorite has been observed at a height of some 
780 kilometers (above Sinope on Sept. 5, 1868, reported by G. von Niessl in Verhandl. 
d. naturforsch. Vereines in Britinn, vol. 17, p. 316, 1879), and even in the spectrum of the 


comets when approaching perihelium (when their velocity is greatest) clear indications of 
the glowing of solid bodies have been observed. 


216 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


The energy thrown out with the sunlight is several billion times 
greater than the total interchange of energy which takes place on the 
earth. The sun gives off continually enormous quantities of it, and 
its supply, of whatever unknown kind it may be, must finally be 
exhausted. It would cool down more and more, and our civilization, 
after terrible struggles, would meet with disaster more and more 
amidst the ever-present ice. 

Thus the two fundamental physical laws lead, it is seen, to essen- 
tially gloomy consequences, but, with all the respect that is due to 
their sublime results and to their precision, it is only right to ask 
whether they are really established with such ideal exactness as to 
enable one to draw conclusions applicable to epochs immensely re- 
mote, and to comprehend the very plan of creation. Before accept- 
ing these consequences, it will be well to submit these inexorable laws 
to a much more searching scrutiny. That the law of gravitation will 
not support an examination carried to extreme limits, nearly all as- 
tronomers agree in admitting. The most striking deviation from this 
law is offered us by the moon, which undergoes an inexplicable ac- 
celeration, not less than 6 seconds per century. An analogous anom- 
aly, more marked and still more complicated, has also been recog- 
nized in the motion of Encke’s comet. The orbit of Mercury pre- 
sents an inexplicable perihelic rotation, attaining 40 seconds per 
century, and its eccentricity is not augmented with the rapidity which 
the law of gravitation demands. The orbit of Mars is subject to 
anomalies of the same nature, while the inclination of the orbit of 
Venus increases too rapidly by 10 seconds every century. Terrestrial 
gravity presents, even from the point of view of direction, a diurnal 
and annual oscillation of a fraction of a second, which is not to be 
explained alone by the attraction of the moon or of the sun.2_ It is 
true that these are relatively small and isolated deviations, and that in 
general the law of gravitation suffices for the calculation of the mo- 
tions of the stars with a sufficient approximation, always assuming 
that the cosmic ether is absolutely devoid of friction. This latter, 
however, is far from being accepted by physicists. When one con- 
siders that the periodic comets, even the smallest ones, apparently 
undergo no frictional resistance, that they are capable of penetrating 
the solar corona at a speed of 5,500 kilometers per second, without 
undergoing appreciable loss, one is obliged to admit that the law of 
gravitation is not sufficient, but that forces unknown, though hinted 
at by Kepler, act upon the stars in motion, and tend to offset the ef- 
fects due to friction of the cosmic ether. It is a fact that no trace, 
however slight, of a beginning of the falling of the planets toward 
the sun, as the law of Newton predicts, has yet been shown. The same 


1G. H. Darwin, Tides, 1898, p. 125; O. Hecker, Publications of the Royal Prussian 
Geodetic Institute, No. 32, 1907. 


Se a ee ee 


MODERN IDEAS ON THE END OF THE WORLD—JAUMANN. 217 


may be said of the cooling of the sun, which should follow in ac- 
cordance with the law of energy. It was supposed for a long time 
to be self-evident that the climate of the earth had grown constantly 
cooler, but this idea has been entirely abandoned. Fluctuations less 
than 10 degrees centigrade on both sides of the mean temperature 
have often occurred, several times in Europe, thus placing these 
regions now under tropical conditions, and now under the conditions 
of the Arctic Zone. But from this point of view the most remote 
ages of the geologic history of the earth differ not at all from the 
present epoch. Glacidl formations, extensive but not thick, have 
been found in early Cambrian strata.1 | At that time the tempera- 
ture was not higher but lower than in our epoch, and more than a 
hundred million years have passed since then. 

One can with difficulty admit of the existence in the sun of a 
supply of energy able to endure without appreciable decrease, for so 
long a time, the enormous expenditure due to radiation. The sta- 
bility of the planetary system and the inexhaustible luminous power 
of the sun are, furthermore, to a certain extent verified by direct 
geologic observation. 

How is it that the law of gravitation and the principle of the 
conservation of energy fail so entirely in their prophecy concerning 
the end of the world? What is the hidden defect of these laws 
which, as the foundations of physics, have given such magnificent 
results within narrower limits, and how can they be given an en- 
tirely correct form ? 

Regarding these really fundamental questions of theoretical 
physics, I feel myself called upon to speak, in so far as they fall 
within the field of my own studies. I should point out, however, 
that questions are concerned which are far from being decided, 
and that I can treat here only their “ phenomenalistic” aspect. The 
Newtonian hypothesis of the attraction of a star on a remote body, 
directly and instantly, without the physical intervention of an in- 
termediary medium, was an abstraction nearly accurate, though at 
bottom little true to nature. Laplace himself admitted the progres- 
sive transmission of gravitation.?, He supposed that this effect was 
propagated, though at great speed, through the cosmic ether. The 
magnetic forces between two magnets were likewise supposed at 
first to act immediately at a distance. Faraday recognized eventually 
that the air or similar medium contained between the two magnets 
(the magnetic field), far from being indifferent, was in a state of 
tension, and that the magnetic effects of one magnet on another were 
propagated from point to point, from one particle to the particle 
immediately adjoining it. It is thus that the elementary action 


1Compare, for example, Walther, History of the Earth, 1908, p. 199. 
2 Laplace Mécanique céleste, vol. 4, p. 317. 


218 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


is always produced in ultimate particles situated in the magnetic 
field, and its law is a differential law expressing the relation of 
cause and effect between the existing conditions and their causative 
predecessors in each ultimate particle of the space. It is from the 
interaction between all the ultimate particles of the magnetic field 
in the so-called integral that the effects at a distance result. Maxwell 
established the laws of effect from point to point of electromagnetism 
(or differential laws of the electromagnetic field), which with an 
admirable simplicity not only explained the electromagnetic phe- 
nomena formerly known (which the laws of effect at a distance were 
equally capable of doing), but did much more; they predicted, in- 
deed, the propagation of electric vibrations through space in the 
form of electromagnetic rays. The luminous rays appeared thus as 
 electromagnatic rays. Hertz obtained, with purely electromagnetic 
resources, electromagnetic rays of great wave length, and Marconi 
has utilized these same rays in wireless telegraphy. Thus it is 
that one of the greatest and most. difficult advances in the theory, 
the transition from laws of effect at a distance to theories of effect 
from point to point, led immediately to a great technical advance. 
At that time (more than 20 years ago), many physicists, Hertz 
and Mach in particular, recognized that the real object of the theory 
was to explain physical phenomena by differential laws, a task which 
seemed to pass much beyond the attainable, but it has been in large 
part satisfactorily performed,* since at present the law of gravitation 
itself can be expressed in the form of a law of effect from point to 
point.2 The end sought in this connection consists in dethroning the 
old corpuscular and mechanical theories still so full of vigor. The 
list of facts brought forth by the two contending parties increases in 
length from year to year and the struggle between phenomenalistic 
investigation and mechanical investigation is waged on a field of great 
extent, embracing almost the entire domain of the exact sciences. The 
combat centers around the question of the nature of light and of the 
cathode rays. The new theory of gravitation is only a partial victory 


1G. Jaumann, A complete system of physical and chemical differential laws, Sitz- 
ungsber. K. Akad. Wiss. Wien, Math.-Naturwiss. Kl., vol. 120, pt. 2a, 1911, pp. 385-530. 

2G. Jaumann, The theory of gravitation, Sitzungsber. K. Akad, Wiss. Wien, Math.- 
Naturwiss. KI., vol. 121, pt. 2a, 1912, pp. 95-182. 

The majority of physicists still subscribe to the emission theory of cathode rays (the 
corpuscular or emissional theory) and there is a tendency, under the leadership of Hinstein 
and Planck, toward giving up finally the essential features of the classical theory and 
going back to a sort of emission theory of light. 

Regarding the undulation theory of cathode rays and the phenomalistic undulation 
theory of light in dispersion media, see G. Jaumann, The electromagnetic theory (Sitz- 
ungsber. K. Akad. Wiss. Wien, Math.-Naturwiss. K1., vol. 117, pt. 2a, 1908, pp. 379-543), 
which paper was rejected by the editors of the Annalen der Physik in 1908 and in 1911 
was honored by a prize by the Imperial Academy of Sciences in Vienna. See also BE. 
Lohr, The boundary conditions in G. Jaumann’s electromagnetic theory (Sitzungsber. K. 
Akad. Wiss. Wien, Math.-Naturwiss. Kl., vol. 120, pt. 2a, 1911, pp. 1503-1567, and vol. 
121, 1912, pp. 683-678. 


SSS > 


MODERN IDEAS ON THE END OF THE WORLD—JAUMANN. 219 


on the extreme wing, but by virtue of it we now have exact notions 
regarding the manner of propagation of gravitation through the cos- 
mic ether. The anomalies of the field of gravitation compensate each 
other in cosmic space, according to a law analogous to that which rules 
the irregularities of the distribution of temperature in a good con- 
ductor of heat. It is only for stars in a state of repose that the New- 
tonian law of effects at a distance follows exactly from the differentia] 
law of gravitation. 

Now, the motions of the planets produce disturbances, a kind of 
damming up, so to speak, of the field of gravitation in front of the 
moving stars, giving birth to new forces of gravitation added to the 
Newtonian forces. Although very small, it can be determined with 
precision that the most important among them has the same direction 
as that of the motion of the planet to which it is a stimulus. It in- 
creases with the speed of the planet and varies in inverse ratio to the 
distance separating it from the sun. These new forces of gravitation 
introduce into the planetary movements disturbances which can be 
calculated without difficulty, and even cause the deviations from the 
Newtonian law which we have mentioned above. By them are ex- 
plained the anomalous perihelic rotations, accelerations, oscillations 
of the vertical, ete.—that is, all the phenomena of gravitation, without 
any being left over, which the Newtonian law of effects at a distance 
was incapable of doing. These new forces of gravitation moreover 
give to the planetary system a physical stability of unlimited dura- 
tion. They keep the planetary orbits in their present form, not 
only in spite of the very considerable resistance due to friction of the 
cosmic ether, but.also in spite of enormous accidental disturbances. 


‘If a disturbance of this nature (which might be due, for example, to 


the passage in the neighborhood of the solar system of a fixed star 
imbued with a very rapid motion of its own) should be produced, and 
modify entirely the form of the planetary orbits, the new forces of 
gravitation would introduce into the elements of the orbits such vari-. 
ations that these planetary orbits would gradually return exactly to 
their existing stable form. Far from becoming dangerous, the fric- 
tional resistance of the cosmic ether, on the contrary, helps essentially 
to make the planetary orbits stable. The greater this resistance the 
more considerable become the new forces of gravitation and the more 
obstinate the planetary orbits in conserving, in spite of all the disturb- 
ances, their stable form. Thus there can no longer be any question of 
the planets dropping into the sun. Far from being unstable, far from 
tending toward a destruction more or less remote, the planetary sys- 
tem is, then, established for a duration which, estimated according 
to the ideas of time that we are able to conceive, may be considered 
as eternal. 


220 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


The absolute validity of the principle of the conservation of 
energy is incontestable, but its new differential form+ leads in 
entirely new directions. The cause of the indefinite constancy of 
the temperature of the sun rises from the inevitable reaction of the 
differential law of gravitation on the law of the propagation or 
radiation of energy and in particular the differential law of the 
conduction of heat, established by Fourier. The forms of the two 
differential laws must be placed in opposition to each other in order, 
when taken together, to correspond to the principle of energy. The 
very considerable role which the mass of bodies plays as the cause 
of the concentration of the forces of gravitation demands a corre- 
sponding influence of the mass of bodies on the concentration of 
energy. To the radiation of energy called the flow of heat there 
corresponds a new flow of energy in the direction of gravitation. 
Thus the law of the conduction of heat established by Fourier is 
strictly applicable only to media of extremely slight density. In 
dense substances there must be a hitherto unrecognized concentration 
of energy, and this is not an hypothesis, but simply the balance of 
the system of laws of effects from point to point. All dense bodies 
should in consequence produce heat incessantly and spontaneously. 
All bodies are so many radiators functioning without loss, although 
in very different and to us generally imperceptible degrees. Far 
from being in contradiction to the principle of energy, this fact 
springs exactly from its expression in the form of the law of effect 
from point to point. The salts of radium, indeed, produce a similar 
effect of spontaneous radiation, but this is of such an exceptional 
intensity that it has amazed the physicists. Upon its discovery 


doubts were conceived of the validity of the principle of energy, 


but it is only the integral form of the principle which gives place 
to these doubts, while the differential form, or the law of effect 
from point to point, is thus all the more firmly established. The 
increase of temperature in the deep strata of the earth is explained 
by this effect of spontaneous radiation without the intervention of 
the hypothesis of deposits of radium. Moreover, there is produced 
toward the sun an enormous concentration of the new radiation of 
energy arising from the field of gravitation, which compensates for 
the loss of energy which the sun undergoes and assures the permanent 
constancy of its mean temperature. Consequently the sun yields 
no energy at all to the wide circle of cosmic space; that which it 
radiates into cosmic space is recovered in the form of this flow of 
energy from the field of gravitation. The senseless waste of the 
sun’s energy, of which the theory of effects at a distance seems to 


1G, Jaumann, Sitzungsber. K. Akad. Wiss., Wien. Math.-Naturwiss. Kl., vol. 117, pt. 
2a, p. 388 et seq.; vol. 120, p. 398 and p. 505; vol. 121, p. 169. 


Pe ee 


MODERN IDEAS ON THE END OF THE WORLD—JAUMANN. 221 


prove the existence, is shown by the theory of effect from point to 
point to have no place in nature. A cooling off of the sun will not 
bring the development of our civilization to a stop, after which, 
through the deterioration of the climate, it will disappear and the 
last men will live like Eskimos on the entirely glaciated earth. The 
radiation from the sun being stable, the intellectual and physical 
evolution of humanity will be able for an immeasurable time to 
mount to heights surpassing, perhaps, anything the imagination is 
capable of conceiving. 

Thus, as a result of the development of the differential theories, 
a new and unsought contribution to cosmology of high and moral 
value has been obtained. 


4 
b 
| 
P 
h 


RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN ELECTROMAGNETISM.* 


By EvuGENE BLocH, 
Professor at the Lycée Saint Louis. 


The domain of electromagnetism is to-day so broad and so com- 
plex that in a few pages we can not hope to show all its frontiers. 
For the present, therefore, we will limit ourselves to reviewing cer- 
tain problems which particularly attract our attention, either by the 
number or the importance of the investigations which they have 
produced. We will start with the theoretical developments and end 
with the results gained in the laboratory.’ 


I. THE DYNAMICS OF THE ELECTRON AND ELECTROMAGNETIC MASS. 


The electromagnetic theory of matter and the ether in the per- 
fected form due to H. A. Lorentz is really a theory of electrons. 
Matter in all its forms is by it considered as made up of complex 
groups of which an essential element is the negative electron either 
free or bound to an atom. This element is defined by its charge ¢ 
(4.5X10- electrostatic units) and its mass, which is invariably at 
small velocities (e/m=1.76 10" electromagnetic units). This result 
was the logical consequence of a long and brilliant series of discov- 
eries which marked the end of the last and the beginning of the 
present century (cathode rays, X rays, gaseous ions, Zeeman effect, 
radioactivity, etc.). 

A fundamental problem of this theory is evidently the study of 
the motion of an isolated electron and the electromagnetic perturba- 
tions which accompany it. This problem gains in interest as experi- 
mental demonstration becomes possible. Cathode rays from all 
sources (rays from Crookes’s tubes, from the photoelectric effect, the 
8 rays from radium) are, indeed, fluxes of electrons projected at 
great velocities from matter. Let us, therefore, review first the 
important results of the theory which was developed by Heaviside 


4 Translated by permission from Revue générale des Sciences pures et appliquées, Paris, 
24th year, No. 8, Apr. 30, 1913. 

2Tt will be out of the question, for instance. in this review to consider the recent 
researches on the larger ions, X-rays, radioactivity, vacuum tubes, and the phenomena 
connected with them (positive rays, etc.), or atmospheric electricity. 


223 


224 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913, 


and Searle and later and fundamentally by J. J. Thomson (1881), 
a theory which has passed through many successive developments. 

(1) An electron moving with a uniform velocity, or at least a 
velocity only slowly variable (quasi-stationary), carries invariably 
tied to it an electromagnetic field the form of which can be com- 
pletely deduced from the Maxwell-Lorentz equations. This moving 
field has been called the “ velocity wave.” ; 

(2) If the electron suffers an acceleration, a wave is immediately 
propagated from it having all the characteristics of a luminous wave 
(transverse vibrations, rectangular electric and magnetic fields). 
This disturbance has been called an “acceleration wave.” At great 
distances from the electron the latter wave alone exists because its 
amplitude varies inversely as the distance from the electron and not 
as the inverse square as does that of the othér wave. This shows us 
the probable origin of luminous radiations and the root of the expla- 
nation of the Zeeman effect. Here also we find the explanation of 
X-rays which are electromagnetic pulses? due to the abrupt stoppage 
of cathode corpuscles at the anticathode and the resulting negative 
acceleration. 

(3) In order to give an electron a quasi-stationary movement 
there must be communicated to it energy which is stored up in its 
field as electric and magnetic energy. The necessary calculations 
for this field are relatively simple where the ratio (@) of the veloc- 
ity (v) of the particle to the velocity of light, V) is small. They 
become more complicated where @ approaches unity and were first 
made completely by Max Abraham ® in 1903 upon the hypothesis of 
a rigid, spherical electron carrying a charge uniformly distributed 


throughout its volume. Then the magnetic energy of the field can 
2 


always be expressed in the form of kinetic energy, > It is 


quite natural to speak of the coefficient m as the electromagnetic 
mass of the electron. This mass may be superposed upon the ordi- 
nary mass, at least it does not wholly take its place. This leads to 
an electromagnetic interpretation of mechanics. In this new me- 
chanics, the mass m does not maintain a constant value m, except 
at very small velocities. For a velocity comparable with that of 
light (8 near 1) the mass becomes a function of $ and increases 
indefinitely as @ approaches unity. Further it is necessary to dis- 
tinguish between a longitudinal and a transverse mass according 


1See the references cited further on. 

2We have not sufficient space to describe the curious theory of Bragg according to 
which the X-rays and the 7 rays of radium are uncharged particles of matter. More- 
over this theory appears to be contradicted by the recent beautiful experiments of Lane 
and his pupils upon the diffraction of X-rays by crystals. (Bragg, Phil. Mag., Oct., 
1907; Chem. News, vol. 97, p. 162, 1908; Radium, p. 213, 1908. See also articles by 
Brunet in this Revue for Feb. 15, 1913.) 

3 See Ions, electrons and corpuscles, vol. 1. 


DEVELOPMENTS IN ELECTROMAGNETISM—BLOCH. yey 


to the orientation of the accelleration with regard to the velocity. 
The transverse mass, detectable only in the experiments with the 
deviations of the cathode rays, is given according to Max Abraham 
by the relation 
m_ 3 1+? a 1+8 
m, 46°\ 28 pal 


This formula seemed completely verified by the observations of 
Kaufmann! (1900 and 1903). He measured the variation of the 
ratio e/m with the velocity for the @ rays from radium, utilizing 
the electric and magnetic deviations of the electrons having veloci- 
ties reaching ninety-five one-hundredths of the velocity of light. 

Since then other formule have been proposed in the place of this. 
Langevin and Bucherer,’? basing their formula upon the ee 
of a deformable electron of constant volume, obtained 


Bee 


Further, as a consequence of the development of the theory of rela- 
tivity (see Sec. II of this article), H. A. Lorentz, postulating an 
electron of constant equatorial diameter, deduced a third formula: 


These new formule also appear to fit the experiments of Kaufmann. 
It became necessary, therefore, to make new experiments more pre- 
cise than those of Kaufmann in order to choose between the various 
formule. Several attempts to do this have been made. 

Bucherer® placed a grain of radium fluoride at the center of a 
condenser formed of two flat disks 8 cm. in diameter and séparated 
by 0.25 mm. This condenser was inclosed in an air-tight cylindrical 
box, the walls of which carried a photographic film. This was all 
placed in a uniform magnetic field parallel to the plates and a very 
perfect vacuum produced. When the condenser is charged, the @ 
rays trace upon the film a line the analysis of which permits the 
ealculation of the variation of e/m with the velocity. In this case 
the formula of Lorentz is found to fit best, confirming nicely the 
principle of relativity. 

1 See Ions, electrons and corpuscles, vol. 1. 

* Langevin, Revue générale des Sciences, p. 267, 1905. 


? Bucherer, Physik. Zeitschrift, vol, 9, p. 755, 1908; Annalen der Physik, vol. 28, p. 513, 
1909. 


44863°—sm 1913——15 


226 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


These conclusions have been clenched by yet later experiments. 
Hupka! used the electrons from the photo-electric effect, produced in 
a very perfect vacuum and accelerated by intense electric fields 
reaching a strength of 90,000 volts. The knowledge of the velocity 
v and the ratio e/m was deduced from the magnetic deviation, 
rendered evident by a fluorescent screen, and the magnitude of the 
accelerating potential. The maximum velocities obtained were of 
the order of v/2. The formula of Lorentz fits these observations also 
better than that of Abraham. However, these experiments are less 
convincing than the preceding ones, as Heil noted,’ since the highest 
potentials must be known with a precision greater than 1 per cent, an 
accuracy difficult to obtain. 

C. E. Guye and Ratnovsky,® desirous of escaping this difficulty, 
used ordinary cathode rays, produced in a good vacuum, and deviated 
at the same time both electrically and magnetically so as to get rid 
of the necessity of measuring the potential used. These results also 
confirm Lorentz’s formula at the expense of Abraham’s. 

We are led by all these results to look upon an electron as deform- 
able only in the direction of its motion, conformable with the prin- 
ciple of relativity; in this respect they undergo the contraction of 
Lorentz (see further on). Do all difficulties now disappear? With- 
out considering the objections of a more general nature which are 
to-day urged against the principle of relatively (see Sec. Il), we 
must say,no. As H. Poincaré‘ has observed, we can not comprehend 
why an electron does not disintegrate spentaneously under the in- 
fluence of the electric and magnetic forces due to its charge unless 
there comes into play, in order to maintain equilibrium, other forces 
from without analogous to pressure. We are led thus to introduce 
something further than pure electromagnetism as a basis of our new 
mechanics. We are just as far as ever from comprehending the 
primordial forces underlying matter. 


II. THE PRINCIPLE OF RELATIVITY. 


Lorentz has shown that the electromagnetic theory furnishes an 
explanation of the negative results of the experiments which were 
expected to demonstrate, either by electrical or optical means, the 
movement of translation of the earth relative to the supposed sta- 
tionary ether. These experiments could detect only the effects of 
the first order with reference to 8 (quotient of the velocity of trans- 
lation of the earth, v, relative to the velocity of light, V), while 


1 Hupka, Verh. der Deutsch. Phys. Gesellsch., vol. 11, p. 249, 1909; Annalen der Physik, 
1910. 

2 Heil, Annalen der Physik, vol. 31, p. 519, 1910. 

3 Guye and Ratnovsky, Comptes Rendus, CL, p. 326, 1910. 

4H. Poincaré, Rendiconti del Circolo Math, di Palermo, vol. 21, p. 129, 1906. 


DEVELOPMENTS IN ELECTROMAGNETISM——BLOCH. 92% 


theory shows that the effects should be of the order of @? or smaller. 
This theory then received a rude shock from the celebrated experi- 
ment of Michelson (1881) relative to the interference of two rays 
propagated at right angles to each other and which should show 
the terms of the second order of 8. The negative result was irrec- 
oncilable with the theory, the effect observed being less than one 
one-hundredth of that calculated... We must therefore modify the 
theory. 

The modification necessary was announced almost at the same time 
by Lorentz and by Fitzgerald. It consisted in supposing that a 
moving solid body suffers a contraction in the direction of its motion 
equal to 07/2. This is the celebrated hypothesis known as the “ con- 
traction of Lorentz.” It seems very strange at first sight and insti- 
gated the experiments by Lord Rayleigh,’ and by Brace,’ who tried 
to find evidence of this contraction in the double refraction which it 
should produce. Their results were negative. In order to explain 
these consequences and place the theory in a more satisfactory form, 
Lorentz was led to a hypothesis which contained the germ of the 
theory of relativity.*| He showed that the electromagnetic equations 
for bodies in motion could be put in the same form as for bodies at 
rest by means of what is called the “transformation of Lorentz.” 
This permits the expression of the coordinates x, y, 2, and the time ¢ 
for a system i motion as a function of the coordinates %, %, Zo, and 
¢, for the system at rest, thus establishing a correspondence between 
the electric and magnetic fields of the two systems. This group of 
transformations contains, as a particular case, the hypothesis of con- 
traction, which is found to be of the magnitude (1-@?)4, in agree- 
ment almost to terms of the fourth order with the magnitude origi- 
nally admitted. It further explains the negative results of Michel- 
son, Rayleigh, and Brace. Through it we understand the negative 
results of Trouton and Noble in their electrostatic experiment which 
was expected to indicate the terms in @?.° 

The experiments explained by the transformation of Lorentz go 
only to the terms in $?. We do not know any at present which go 
further, but it is natural to suppose that even taking into account 
terms of higher orders, we will never be able to get evidence of the 
motion of translation of the earth with reference to the ether. In 
other words, we can probably detect only the relative motions of two 
material systems with reference to each other and not their absolute 

1The original experiment was made by Michelson and Morley in 1887 and repeated 
most recently by Morley and Miiller, Phil. Mag., vol. 9, p. 680, 1905. 

2 Rayleigh, Phil. Mag., vol. 4, p. 678, 1902. 

3 Brace, Phil. Mag., vol. 7, p. 317, 1904. 

*See the admirable book by Lorentz, entitled ‘“‘ The Theory of Electrons,’ and published 
by Teubner in Leipzig, 1909. 


5’ Trouton and Noble, Phil. Trans., vol. 202, p. 165, 1903. See also Langevin, Comptes 
Rendus, vol. 140, p. 1171, 1905. 


228 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


movement with reference to a supposed stationary ether. This novel 
hypothesis was announced in its most general form for the first time 
by Einstein,’ who named it the principle of relativity. Starting with 
this simple principle, Einstein modified slightly the transformation 
of Lorentz, giving to it a physical basis of very great generality and 
gathering all the conclusions resulting from it into a group of per- 
fectly consistent formule. 

We will not state here all the physical and philosophical conse- 
quences of this theory of relativity. We will note only the absolute 
character assumed by the two fundamental postulates of this theory: 
First, the ether is immovable and penetrates matter perfectly ; second, 
the velocity of light is an absolute invariant and represents a su- 
perior limit which‘no other velocity can exceed (whether for matter 
in motion or the propagation of waves). The theory has been fur- 
ther developed (principally by Germans) by Einstein (1905-1912), 
Minkowski (1905-1908), Planck (1907-8), Born (1909), Som- 
merfeld (1910), Laue (1911), etc. The various points of view 
which these physicists have adopted are too numerous to be given 
here in detail; some have tried to put the transformations of Lorentz 
into more geometrical and comprehensive form (Minkowski) ; others 
have deduced the kinetic consequences of the principle, either for a 
moving point (composition of velocities according to Sommerfeld) 
or for a solid body in rotation (Born, Laue, etc.). Difficulties and 
complications quickly arise as soon as the motion of uniform trans- 
lation originally supposed is departed from and these difficulties have 
not yet been overcome. The total absence of any experimental basis 
or confirmation of these later developments deters us from further 
discussion. We will stop a moment only on one of the most para- 
doxical consequences of the principle of relativity which will bring 
out the difficulties which the theory encounters and rebut the abso- 
lutism of the principles which it uses as bases of the physical 
sciences. At the start Einstein? showed that if the energy of a sys- 
tem increases by the amount /, the principle of relativity requires 
that its mass increases at the same time by E/V?. Only on this con- 
dition can the principle of the conservation of the movement of the 
center of gravity as well as the new system of mechanics be main- 
tained. Accordingly, mass and energy are not really distinct; the 
principle of the conservation of mass is inseparable from the prin- 
ciple of conservation of energy. This result, however strange, is 
nevertheless consistent in itself. 

Einstein himself, basing his deductions on this consequence, tried 
to bring back to the principle of relativity the absolute value which 

1 Hinstein, Annalen der Physik, vol. 17, p. 902, 1906. 


2 Binstein, 1. c. and Annalen der Physik, vol. 20, p. 627, 1906; vol. 23, p. 578, 
1907, etc. 


t 


DEVELOPMENTS IN ELECTROMAGNETISM—BLOCH. 229 


had been attributed to it since 1905.1. He has tried to include in 
the electromagnetic synthesis of the universe the phenomenon of 
gravity, hitherto so rebellious against all our efforts at explanation. 
He noted that a uniform gravitational field of constant accelera- 
tion, y, is equivalent to a medium free from gravitation in which the 
reference axes are supposed acting with a uniform acceleration 
—y. Next we must generalize the principle of relativity and pass 
from the case considered until now of a uniform velocity of trans- 
lation to that of a uniform acceleration. In the earlier case we 
were led to attribute to energy a mass m=//V?; now, if we wish 
to preserve the principle in its entirety we must attribute to the 
same energy the weight my. As a particular case, radiant energy, 
light, must have weight; a beam of hght must then be deviated by 
the masses close to which it may pass. Einstein’s calculation showed, 
for example, that the angular distance between a star and the center 
of the sun must be decreased by about one second when the star 
appears close to the sun. The measurement could be attempted at 
a total eclipse of the sun. 

There is no need of calling attention to the strangeness of these 
conclusions. The important thing from a philosophical point of 
view is that we are obliged to give up the absolute invariability 
of the velocity of light, V, considered at the start as an unassailable 
axiom. This invariability is only true in a system where the gravi- 
tational potential ¢ remains constant. For variable potentials the 
velocity of light must. vary according to the formula, V=V, 
(1+0/V?). So it is only in the case of uniform motion of 
translation that the transformation of Lorentz represents the phe- 
nomena of a system in movement. In the more general case the 
group of transformations is more complicated and as yet undeter- 
mined ; the equations to be substituted for those of the classic elec- 
tromagnetism are also undetermined. 

This new point of view of Einstein has at least one incontestable 
utility: It makes us realize that the postulates which were at the 
basis of the earlier principle of relativity (the invariability of V, 
etc.) are perhaps only approximate affirmations, susceptible of modi- 
fication, and not first truths. It has led us from metaphysics to 
physics. And since the discussion became opened anew concerning 
the foundations proposed by Einstein we will not be surprised to 
find that Max Abraham, adopting this new conception of mass and 
weight, has developed a new theory of gravitation, different in many 
respects from that of Einstein. Abraham? renounces the generaliza- 


1 Winstein, Jahrbuch der Rad. and Hlectronik, vol. 4, p. 4; Annalen der Physik, vol. 35, 
p. 898, 1911, etc. 

*Max Abraham, Phys.+Zeitschr., vol. 13, No. 1, 1912; Annalen der Physik, vol. 38, p. 
1056, vol. 39, p. 444, 1912; Nuovo Cimento, January, 1913. 


230 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


tion of the principle of relativity in the case of acceleration. Then 
considering that as a whole the principle of relativity has failed, he 
keeps the Lorentz transformation only for very small changes in 
the variables. Considerable discussion has passed between him and 
Einstein, but we will not follow the details.* 

Admitting that these theories will have a lasting effect upon 
science, in the future new experiments will be required and a more 
powerful theoretical effort than that of the past. We will close our 
exposition of this question by citing the opinions of several skeptical 
physicists who, from the beginning, have found the postulates upon 
which the theory of relativity rests too absolute and to whose voices 
we are now beginning to listen. 

The ether in the principle of relativity has been emptied little by 
little of all its physical properties; it is represented now only by a 
system of mathematical equations, those of Maxwell-Lorentz, and a 
number, the velocity of light. It remains as the vehicle of radiant 
energy without our questioning how. Ritz,? following to the logical 
conclusions such notions, proposes to renounce wholly the hypothesis 
of an ether and to return to a theory very close to the old one of 
emission. According to him, we need not speak of electric and mag- 
netic fields, but only of electric charges acting upon each other. 
We thus return to action at a distance but taking into account the 
finite velocity with which such action takes place. Consequently it 
is necessary to throw away the partial differential equations of the 
electric field and replace them with integrals (retarded potentials). 
There is thus introduced an irreversibility of which the former equa- 
tions could not take account. Mass at great velocities will remain 
constant, but the force will vary. We thus arrive at another system 
of mechanics. Against these new conceptions, the development of 
which was unfortunately interrupted by the death of the author, 
there are grave objections which have so’ far kept the majority of 
theorists from adopting them, although they are perfectly consistent 
among themselves. 

Brillouin,? on the other hand, makes the ether more substantial 
than has been customary. There must be, according to him, a drastic 
revision of the hypotheses relative to it. For example, its absolute 
immobility, perfect permeability, homogeneity, isotropy, and the in- 
variability of the velocity of light. Those upholding the principle of 
relativity bave themselves commenced to attack the last postulate, as 
we have just seen. Now it will be the turn of the other properties. 
We may come, through the increasing acuteness of our powers of 


1 Hinstein, Annalen der Physik, vol. 38, p. 355 and 1059, 1912; vol. 39, p. 704, 1912. 

2 Ritz, Annales de chimie et de physique, vol. 13, p. 145, 1908. 

3 Brillouin, Scientia, vol. 13, p. 10, 1913. See the Revue générale des Sciences, Mar. 
80, 1913, p. 214. 


DEVELOPMENTS IN ELECTROMAGNETISM—-BLOCH. ok 


analysis, to admit, to a closer degree of approximation, that the ether, 
at least slightly, is similar to ordinary matter, that it may propagate 
a disturbance with a velocity greater than that of light, that it does 
not remain perfectly stationary when matter traverses it, etc. New 
experiments must be added to the purely electro-optic ones of Michel- 
son, Rayleigh, Brace, and Troughton before we will be able to build 
these theories. 


Ill. ELECTROMAGNETISM AND RADIATION. 


The difficulties just described are not the only ones which the 
modern theory of electromagnetism encounters. Perhaps the gravest 
ones arise in adapting it to the experimental facts of radiation, We 
know that thermal radiation in equilibrium in a constant-temperature 
chamber, and called “black radiation,” has a density independent of 
the particular body producing it. It is a function only of the wave- 
length } and the absolute temperature 7. Our theoretical knowl- 
edge of this density, w,, is expressed by the well-known laws of 


Kirchoff, Stefan-Boltzmann, and Wien. Our experimental knowl- 
edge is expressed by the formula of Planck, 


ae 


This equation satisfies not only the three theoretical laws but also 
corresponds to the observed distribution of energy in the spectrum 
of a black body. This formula reduces for large values of AZ to 
the earlier one of Rayleigh, 


UW =, /C,- T/A: 


Now, the electromagnetic theory seems to lead almost inevitably to 
Rayleigh’s formula for all wave-lengths in flagrant contradiction to 
experimental facts. The second formula, indeed, does not give a 
maximum to the radiation distribution curve and makes the total 
radiation infinite. This consequence, which the researches of Lord 
Rayleigh? and Jeans* made extremely probable, has been ren- 
dered certain by those of Lorentz.* According to the latter’s re- 


1 These laws rest only on the Doppler-Fizeau principle, thermodynamical reasoning and 
the pressure of radiation, principles which may be held as well proven if not as ex- 
perimental facts. 

2 Rayleigh, Phil. Mag., vol. 2, p. 539, 1900. 

* Jeans, I. c., vol. 10, p. 91, 1905; vol. 17, p. 229, 1909; vol. 17, p. 773, 1909; vol. 18, 
p. 209, 1909. 

*Lorentz, Revue générale des Sciences, p. 14, 1909; La théorie du rayonnement (The 
theory of radiation), Rapports au Congrés de Bruxelles de 1911, publiés par Langevin 
and de Broglie. 


232 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


searches, the most general equation of an electromagnetic system, 
based upon the ether, electrons, and matter, by a suitable choice of 
parameters can be reduced to the Hamiltonian form of the equations 
of mechanics. The application of the methods of probability and 
statistical mechanics, especially the theorem of Liouville (which is 
a consequence of the Hamiltonian form), leads us, then, to consider 
as applicable to the ether the theorem of the equipartition of energy 
which also brings us out with Rayleigh’s formula. 

In order to escape from this blind alley and obtain the earlier 
formula, Planck invented the hypothesis of the discontinuity of en- 
ergy or quanta. According to this hypothesis, the molecular resona- 
tors can not exchange energy with the surrounding medium except 
in whole multiples of the same elementary quantity (quantum), Ay, 
an amount proportional to the frequency of the resonator. The con- 
stant A would be a universal constant. We will not explain here the 
various forms given to the theory by Planck himself, Sommerfeld, 
Einstein, H. Poincaré, and others (see articles cited, note 4, p. 231). 
We will pass over all the consequences which have been deduced from 
this hypothesis (theory of specific heats by Einstein, etc.), except 
those which are purely electromagnetic.’ 

Tt appears that we need not give up for the free ether the equations 
and ordinary laws of electromagnetics or the dynamics of the free 
electron. The modification of the electromagnetic theory which we 
must make, if necessary, relates only to the relations between matter 
and the ether; that is to say, with regard to electrons not free, to 
emissions and absorption of energy, or perhaps to emission alone, 
which must then be considered as discontinuous. 

Brillouin® thinks that there is a loophole of escape: Planck’s 
theory rests upon an arbitrary hypothesis with regard to strictly 
monochromatic resonators having very little physical basis. In 
giving these up, the complication of the reasoning rapidly increases, 
but Brillouin thinks that we can probably come out with Planck’s 
formula without recourse to quanta. The result would, however, 
be inconsistent with the general theory of Lorentz previously men- 
tioned. Possibly we may hope to reach more precise knowledge of 
the mechanism of absorption about which we know practically noth- 
ing, and thence get a loophole for escape. This doubtless will hap- 
pen in the future. 

There is another domain than that of radiation, wherein the elec- 
tronic and quanta theories are clearly inconsistent, that of the prop- 
erties of the metals. According to the electronic theory, the thermal 
and electrical conductivities of the metals, as well as many other of 

1 See the recent article by J. Perrin in the Revue for Nov. 15, 1912. 

2These consequences have been resumed in a notable course of lectures given this year 


at the Collége de France by Langevin. 
8 Brillouin, Comptes Rendus, vol. 156, pp. 124, 301, 1913. 


DEVELOPMENTS IN ELECTROMAGNETISM—BLOCH. 250 


their properties, are due to the motion of free electrons. We may, 
indeed, derive thus the law of Wiedemann and Franz. Electrons 
should therefore play an important part in the specific heats of the 
metals. But, according to the theory of quanta, the specific heat is 
uniquely related to the uncharged atomic resonators (Hinstein). 
This accounts for the behavior of the specific heats at low tempera- 
tures. But the quanta theory has nothing to offer as to the thermal 
and electrical conductivities. The discordance is, however, decisive. 
It is perhaps premature to try to reconcile matters until measures of 
the thermal conductivities at low temperatures have been made, com- 
parable with the excellent ones on the electrical conductivities made 
by Kamerlingh Onnes? at the temperature of liquid air and hydrogen. 


IV. THE MAGNETON. 


The electron seems to have definitely become one of our physical 
properties. P. Weiss’ has for several years, and with increasing 
success, tried to introduce an element of magnetism, the magneton, 
bringing to bear upon it an imposing mass of experimental results. 

He started from the theory of dia- and para-magnetism built by 
Langevin.* In that theory diamagnetism is explained by the de- 
formation of the intra-atomic electronic trajectories under the influ- 
ence of an exterior electric field paramagnetism results from the 
existence of a molecular magnetic moment of certain substances. 
Weiss has elaborated this theory so as to include ferromagnetism by 
means of a supplementary hypothesis, that of molecular magnetic 
fields proportional to the magnetizing force. This idea of an electric 
field is not new. Through it Ritz* developed his beautiful theory 
of the structure of the series of certain spectrum lines and the Zeeman 
effect. It led Weiss to formule which are well substantiated by ex- 
periment not only in the legitimate field of electromagnetism (the 
variation of the Curie constant with the temperature), but also as 
to the specific heats of ferromagnetic bodies. It was while looking 
for such precise experimental confirmation that Weiss was led to 
the theory of the magneton. 

The measure of the absolute value of the atomic magnetic moments 
of iron and nickel at the temperature of liquid hydrogen, made in 
collaboration with MKamerlingh Onnes, led at the start to numbers 
12,360 and 3,370, which divided, respectively, by 11 and 3 lead prac- 
tically to the same quotient, 1,123.5. For cobalt the corresponding 
number was later found to be very close to 9X1,123.5. For the 

1 With regard to all these questions which we can not stop to more than sketch, see the 
lecture which we delivered before the Société de physique in December, 1911, upon the 
electron theory of metals and also the book which we have several times cited on the 
Theory of Radiation. 

2 Weiss, Journal de physique, pp. 900, 905, 1911. 


’ Langevin, Annales de chimie et de physique, vol. 5, p. 70, 1905. 
* Ritz, Annalen der Physik, vol. 25, p. 660, 1908. 


234 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


molecule of magnetite the results were more complex and must be 
divided by 3 to compare them with the atom of iron. These also 
led to whole multiples of the same number, the factor of propor- 
tionality changing abruptly at certain temperatures as if the atom 
of iron underwent corresponding alterations. The number 1,235, 
of which all the atomic magnetic moments are multiples, will be 
called the magneton-gram, and its quotient by the Avogadro num- 
ber (the number of atoms per gram-atom) is the magneton, 
16.4<10-**. The properties of a ferromagnetic body are then well 
explained by supposing that the magnetic moments of their atoms 
are simple multiples of a magneton. Magnetism will then have a 
granular structure like electricity. 

Interesting confirmations have been made of this theory through 
measures of various experimenters upon paramagnetic salts or, in- 
deed, upon other bodies. The numbers of Pascal* and those of Mlle. 
Feytis? are in qualitative and quantitative accord with the hypothe- 
sis of the magneton. As these numbers were calculated with refer- 
ence to water as a standard, an exact knowledge of the diamagnetic 
constant of water became necessary. Its measure is difficult and 
has led to discrepant results. It has been remeasured separately by 
Séve® and by P. Weiss and Piccard,* who have reached concordant 
results close to 0.7210 at 20° C. The theory of the magneton 
thus has had the merit of fixing definitely this important constant. 

- We are obliged to admit, however, that for ferromagnetic bodies 
the atom does not possess a unique magnetic moment, but has a cer- 
tain number of different values according to the temperature and 
the chemical compound into which it enters. All these values, how- 
ever, have integral ratios. The actual existence of the magneton 
has been demonstrated in the atoms of iron, nickel, cobalt, manganese, 
vanadium, calcium, mercury, and uranium. We therefore seem to 
have here a real, very general constituent element of matter. We 
may therefore think of adding the magneton to the other known 
fundamental elementary bodies. The attempt made by Langevin ® 
to deduce the magneton from the quantum of Planck will doubtless 
serve as a stimulus in this direction. 


Vy. THE PRODUCTION AND NATURE OF GASEOUS IONS. 


We will not discuss here the simple, ordinary ions, such as origi- 
nate from the X rays, radium, the Hertz effect, etc. For several 
years the accepted theory (Langevin, J. J. Thomson, Townsend, and 
others) was this: the negative electron, torn from a molecule by the 

1 Pascal, Ann. Ch. Phys., vol. 16, p. 531, 1909; vol. 19, p. 5, 1910. 
2Mule. Feytis, Comptes Rendus, vol. 152, p. 708, 1911. 
8 Séve, Ann. Ch. Phys., vol. 27, p. 189, 1912. 


4 Weiss and Piccard, Comptes Rendus, vol. 155, p. 1234, 1912. 
5 Langevin, Rapport 4 la Conférence de Bruxelles, 1911. 


DEVELOPMENTS IN ELECTROMAGNETISM—BLOCH. 9385 


ionizing force, surrounds itself with a cortege of neutral molecules; 
the residual positive atomic ion does likewise. Thus originate the 
ordinary positive and negative ions. They are «characterized by 
their mobility A, coefficient of recombination «, and diffusion D. At 
very low pressures and at high temperatures these assemblages are 
dissociated little by little to the primitive charged center., We will 
see that some modification of these ideas will be necessary. 

(1) Along the line of theory since the fundamental work of 
Langevin (Annales Ch. Phys., 1905) several new attempts have been 
made to explain the order of magnitude of the mobilities and their 
variations. Among these we should specially mention those of 
Sutherland, of Wellisch,2? and of Reinganum.? Sutherland, es- 
pecially, departing from the hypothesis of molecular agglomera- 
tion, supposes that an ion is identical with the electron or the 
primitive atom-ion; its velocity is modified and retarded by the 
electric action exercised upon the neighboring ions or the molecules 
polarized by its approach. An apparent viscosity is thus created 
which explains very well the results of Phillips (see further on) upon 
the variation of the mobility with the temperature. The actual 
theory is not unlike that which led Sutherland to his well-known 
formula for the variation with the temperature of the viscosity of a 
gas. 

It will be perhaps convenient to use the conventions of the older 
theory, considering the ions as assemblages in perpetual process of 
formation and disintegration in a kind of dynamical equilibrium; 
the charged center will then be in turn free and loaded with neutral 
molecules. We will see that a greater part of the experimental data 
makes such a convention almost necessary. 

(2) With a view to furnishing useful material for the theoretical 
developments, many measures have been made upon the mobility, 
the rate of recombination, and the diffusion at various temperatures 
and pressures. We will mention the measures of Phillips‘ (varia- 
tion of & and a with the temperature), Kovorik,> Tood,’ Dempster? 
(variation at K at high and low pressures), Sales* (variation of D 
with the pressure). These measures show that ionic agglomerations 
disintegrate faster at low pressures and high temperatures in the case 
of negative ions and tend for both positive and negative ions to 
revert to the primitive state. This is in accord with the measures 


1 Sutherland, Phil. Mag., vol. 18, p. 341, 1909. 

2 Wellisch, Phil. Trans., vol. 209, p. 249, 1909. 

3 Reinganum, Phys. Zeitschr., vol. 12, pp. 575 and 666, 1911. 

4Phillips, Proc. Roy. Soc., 1906, and vol. 83, p. 246, 1910. 

5 Kovorik, Phys. Rev., vol. 30, p. 415, 1910; Proc., vol. 86, p. 154, 1912. 
6 Tood, Radium, p. 113, 1911; p. 465, 1911. 

7 Dempster, Phys. Rev., vol. 34, p. 53, 1912. 

8 Sales, Radium, p. 59, 1911. 


236 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913, 


made upon flames by Moreau,! Lusby,? H. A. Wilson, and others.® 
The negative ions in flames appear to differ little from corpuscles 
and are scarcely loaded in their accidental encounters with molecules. 
The positive ion has a size of the order of magnitude of a free atom- 
ion and often appears to be formed of an hydrogen atom, more rarely 
of a metallic atom in certain flames colored by salts. 

(3) It is mostly with ionization at ordinary temperatures that the 
newer results have been obtained. The study of ionized gaseous 
mixtures was first undertaken by Blanc* and by Wellisch. Accord- 
ing to them an ion produced in a gas A and then transported into 
another gas B, assumes a mobility characteristic of the gas B. This 
agrees with the idea of temporary agglomerations constantly de- 
stroyed and built up again. Blane carried out his experiment with 
ions formed in carbonic acid gas and then transported into air. 
Wellisch created his ions in CH,I of CCl, and then transported them 
into hydrogen. According to him the ionization in hydrogen is 
enormously increased by traces of CH, whereas the mobility changes 
only slightly. It looks as if the heavily ionized molecules of CH,1 
transfer their charges to the hydrogen molecules. This is a re- 
markable property belonging to certain ions. The same experi- 
menters, as well as Lathey,® Tyndall,” and others, have studied 
with precision the influence of traces of a foreign gas upon the 
mobility of ions. According to Blanc a small amount of aqueous 
vapor diminishes the mobility of the negative ion and increases that 
of the positive ion in air and in carbonic acid gas (450 and 490 
C. G. S. for air instead of 380 and 600). The same occurs with 
aleohol vapor. The molecules of water and alcohol without doubt 
remain longer associated with the charged nucleus than those of 
air, carbonic acid gas, or hydrogen. Just the opposite is the case 
with the molecules of CH,I, CCl,, etc. From this we see also that 
in certain gases the positive ions finally surpass the negative ions 
in mobility. This, for instance, happen with chlorine. 

The most remarkable fact in this connection was noted by Franck.® 
Working upon argon he found normal mobilities (of the order of 
1 cm. in a 1 volt-cm. field) for the positive ions, while the negative 
ions had mobilities of more than 200 em. and behaved as corpuscles 
free from corteges of molecules during the major part of their 
courses in the gas. This enormous mobility diminishes very rapidly 


1 Moreau, Comptes Rendus, vol. 148, p. 342, 1909; Radium, p. 70, 1910. 

2Lusby, Proc. Cambr., vol. 16, p. 26, 1911; Phil. Mag., vol. 22, p. 775, 1911. 
3H. A. Wilson, Phil. Mag., vol. 21, p. 711, 1911. 

4Blanec, Journal de physique, vol 7, p. 838, 1908. 

5 Wellisch, Radium, p. 241, 1909, and 1. ¢. 

6 Lathey, Proc. Roy. Soc., vol. 84, p. 173, 1910. 

7Tyndall, Nature, vol. 84, p. 530, 1910. 

8 Franck, Verh. Deutsch. Phys. Gesellsch., vol. 12, p. 291, 1910. ‘ 


DEVELOPMENTS IN ELECTROMAGNETISM—BLOCH. pra 


under the least trace of oxygen; it is brought down to 1.7 cm. by 
1.5 per cent of oxygen. The tendency to associate with the oxygen 
molecules is therefore much greater than with the argon atom. 
Nitrogen shows a behavior analogous to argon. 

(4) The study of the charge carried by the ions has led also to 
important results. The method used for measuring the charge e 
is based upon the condensation of water-vapor upon the ions 
(Townsend and J. J. Thomson) and has been further perfected by 
Millikan’? and his pupils. By means of a microscope a single drop 
of oil or other material charged by the ionized gas is observed be- 
tween the horizontal plates of a condenser. Its rates of rise or fall 
due to the combined electrical and gravitational fields are followed, 
and from these rates the charge e may be computed. Thus by ob- 
serving the sudden changes in the rates the new charges can be noted 
as they are added or taken away from the drop. It is found that 
these modifications of the charge of the drop always occur in whole 
multiples of the same elementary charge, e. The mean of the num- 
bers found for e was 4.8910-"° electrostatic units. This number 
accords with that deduced by Rutherford from his measures with 
the rays although J. Perrin found somewhat smaller values from his 
study of emulsions and of the Brownian movement. 

An important fact was noted by Townsend? and his students: Ions 
of double charge, 2e, or multiples of this, were found in ionized gases. 
- This was noted in the experiments made in 1899, by means of which 
Townsend, measuring the diffusion coefficient D by a method using 
a gaseous current and comparing it with the mobility % was able to 
determine the product Ve of the charge of the ion by the Avogadro’s 
number (the number of atoms per atom-gram). This was a static 
method and permitted the evaluation directly of the quotient 4/D 
which equals the product Ve. This result was dependent upon the 
method of ionization used. At mean pressures and with the a rays 
from radium in air or the secondary rays due to X rays produced 
upon polished brass in hydrogen or oxygen, slightly moist, ions of 
opposite sign were both found to give nearly the value 1.2410". 
However, if the secondary rays are produced in air at a sheet of 
brass, oxidized or covered with vaseline, or in other gases (hydrogen, 
oxygen, carbonic acid) upon the same strip polished and covered 
vaseline, the value of Ve is much greater for the positive ions. It 
may be found as high as 2.410!°. We conclude therefore first, that - 
certain positive ions carry a charge 2e; secondly, that such ions are 
produced by the more penetrating secondary rays which are not 

1 Millikan, Radium, p. 345, 1910; Phys. Rev., vol. 32, p. 349, 1911. 


2 Townsend, Proc. Roy. Soc., vol. 80, p. 207, 1908; vol. 81, p. 464, 1909; vol. 85, p. 25, 
1911; Haselfoot, Proc. Roy. Soc., vol. 82, p. 18, 1909. 


238 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


absorbed by the vaseline. The existence of these polyvalent ions has 
been confirmed by Franck and Westphal, who returned to the older 
method, using a gaseous current and devised by Townsend, in which 
K and P are separately measured. With X rays the proportion of 
polyvalent ions is about 1/10; with the @ rays of polonium of 
the 6 rays of radium there seem to be no polyvalent ions. Millikan 
and Fletscher? do not agree with these conclusions, basing their ob- 
jections upon the method of drops earlier described. But the earlier 
physicists maintain their interpretation, which also seems to be in 
good accord with the results from other methods (multiple charges 
of the « rays from radium, of the canal rays, the positive rays of 
vacuum tubes, according to J. J. Thomson, Gehrke, and Reichenheim 
and others). 

However, the question must seem at present unsolved. Very re- 
cently, Langevin and Salles,? measuring the ratio K/D by a new 
direct method, have concluded against the existence of polyvalent ions 
in the ionization by X rays. We must therefore still leave the ques- 
tion open. 

(5) Finally, we must note the remarkable experiment by which 
C. T. K. Wilson‘ has enlightened us as to the mechanism of ioniza- 
tion. Continuing his celebrated experiments on the condensation 
of water vapor on ions, he succeeded in seeing and photographing 
the trail of ions, produced in a gas by an angle « or @ particle from 
radium or a very narrow pencil of X rays. 

His admirable photographs themselves alone can give an idea of 
all of which we can learn from them. Upon them we see the 2 and 8 
particles following their rectilinear trajectories; we learn that the 
X rays do not ionize directly but by the secondary rays which they 
tear from the molecules encountered in the gas, etc. We find also 
a direct verification of the hypothesis advanced by Langevin and put 
to experimental test by Moulin® in order to explain the “initial re- 
combination” discovered by Bragg. According to the latter, the 
saturation current of a gas ionized by « rays is much more difficult 
to obtain than when X rays are used. This is due, not to an “ initial 
recombination” between the positive atom ions and electrons just 
liberated, but to a localization of the ions along the path of the 
a particles; a saturation current is indeed much easier to obtain when 
the field is perpendicular to the radiation than when parallel. 


1 Franck and Westphal, Verh. der Deutsch. Phys. Ges., vol. 11, pp. 146 and 276, 1909. 
2Millikan and Fletscher, Phys. Reyv., vol. 32, p. 239, 1911, and Phil. Mag., vol. 21, 


p. 753, 1911. See also Townsend, Phil. Mag., vol. 22, p. 204, 1911; Franck and West- . 


phal, Phil. Mag., vol. 22, p. 547, 1911. 
3 Langevin and Salles, Société de chimie physique, February, 1913. 
4 Wilson, Proc. Roy. Soc., vol. 85, p. 285, 1911; Radium, January, 1913. 
5 Moulin, Radium, p. 350, 1910. 


—— 


DEVELOPMENTS IN ELECTROMAGNETISM—BLOCH. 239 
VI. PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT. (HERTZ AND LENARD EFFECTS.) 


Light, and especially ultra-violet light, discharges negatively elec- 
trified bodies with the production of rays of the same nature as 
cathode rays. Under certain circumstances it can directly ionize 
gases. The first of these phenomena was discovered by Hertz and 
Hallwachs in 1887. The second was announced first by Lenard in 
1900. Perhaps on no subject is the literature of the day greater and 
more contradictory, so we will note only a few of the recent results 
upon which the bulk of the work has been done. 

(1) With regard to the Hertz effect, the researches from the start 
showed a great complexity of the biicHomenbe of photoelectric 
fatigue—that is, the progressive diminution of the effect observed 
upon fresh metallic surfaces. According to an important research 
by Hallwachs, ozone plays an important part in the phenomenon. 
However, other elements enter such as oxidation, the humidity, the 
mode of polish of the surface, etc. We are not even sure that the 
fatigue is absent ina vacuum. Eugene Bloch? insists that we should 
work with an exciting radiation of definite wave-length since the 
fatigue varies from one wave-length to another. He also showed 
that in certain instances there is an acceleration of the effect which 
has been refound by various workers. 

A, great many experiments have been made in a vacuum. Some 
were undertaken to study the Hertz effect at the rear surface of a 
strip traversed by the light, an effect perhaps greater there than at 
the front surface (Stohlmann, Kleemann, and others). Other ex- 
perimenters have shown a selective effect in the case of certain metals; 
for instance, with the alkaline metals, according to Pohl and Pring- 
scheim,’ there are maxima of exciting power at wave length 0.300 p. 
for sodium, at 0.436 % for potassium, and at 0.890 p for a liquid alloy 
of potassium and sodium. The general exciting power increased 
regularly toward the smaller wave lengths. Several workers have 
also endeavored to extend the photo-electric sensitiveness of photo- 
electric cells into the infra-red (Elster and Geitel) or to utilize them 
for photophony (Bloch). 

However, the greatest effort has been spent in order to find out in 
vacuum the variation of the initial velocities of the photo-electric 
electrons with the wave length. This problem has a great theoretical 
interest, and the simple laws stated by Lenard since 1900 for the 
ensemble of radiation emitted should be studied separately for each 
wave length of the exciting radiation. According to Lenard, the 
total number of electrons emitted is proportional to the intensity of 


1 Hallwachs, Annalen der Physik, vol. 23, p. 459, 1907. 
2 Bloch, Radium, vol. 23, p. 125, 1910. 
Pohl and Pringscheim, Verh. der Deutsch. Phys. Ges., vol. 12, pp. 215, 349, 1910. 


240 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


the incident light, but their velocity is independent of it, as well as 
of the wave length for any given metal. This odd result does not at 
all agree with the quanta hypothesis which, according to Einstein, 
leads to a linear variation of the initial energy mv?/2 with the fre- 
quency. We may further in our measures replace the initial velocity 
by the maximum positive potential V which the metal can take under 
the influence of the rays (that is, the potential of the stoppage of the 
electrons). The first measures made upon this matter by Laden- 
burg?! showed an increase of the initial velocity with the exciting 
frequency. Taken up by Ladenburg and Marlay,? Hull,? Hughes,* 
Richardson,’ and others, the experiments have confirmed, although 
not without disputeand difficulty,the qualitative resultof Ladenburg 
and apparently the theoretical law of variation due to Kinstein. Cer- 
tain writers contest this last deduction and claim a parabolic in place 
of a linear law of variation. Our own unpublished experiments com- 
pleted upon this question lead us to reserve our decision, because of 
the smallness of the ranges of wave lengths studied by all these 
experimenters. It will be necessary to take up with quartz appa- 
ratus this question, working with the alkaline metals from the visible 
spectrum way up to the extreme ultra-violet. This is the only pro- 
cedure which will allow a real experimental test of the theory of 
quanta. We will close with the results obtained by Millikan’ and 
his pupils, who have found in certain cases abnormally high initial 
velocities. It looks as if there might be some experimental error due 
to the mode of production of the discharge by the ultra-violet light 
and the influence of the electric waves from the source upon the 
measuring apparatus. 

(2) The discovery of the ionization of gases by ultra-violet light 
was made by Lenard in 1900. As the effect was produced across 
several centimeters of air and made very great positive and small 
negative ions, it was natural to interpret the phenomenon, as did 
J. J. Thomson, as an Hertz effect upon the solid or liquid particles 
present in the gas. The researches of Langevin and those of Eugene 
Bloch ® have shown, indeed, that the greater part of the Lenard effect 
is certainly due to this cause. 

The Lenard effect upon the gas itself nevertheless does exist. Re- 
found by J. J. Thomson® and then more decisively by Palmer,*° it 


1 Ladenburg, Phys. Zeitschr., vol. 8, p. 590, 1907. 

2 Ladenburg and Markav, Phys. Zeitschr., vol. 9, p. 821, 1908. 

8 Hull, Phys. Zeitschr., vol. 10, p. 587. 

4 Hughes, Phil. Mag., vol. 21, p. 393, 1911; Proc. Cambr., vol. 16, p. 167, 1911. 
5 Richardson, Phil. Mag., vol. 24, pp. 570, 575, 1912. 

6 Kuntz, Cornelius, Phys. Review, 1910 and 1913. 

7 Millikan and Wright, Phys. Review, January and February, 1911. 

8 Bloch, Radium, p. 240, 1908. 

® Thomson, Proc. Cambr., voi. 14, p. 417, 1907. 

10 Palmer, Nature, vol. 77, p. 582, 1908; Phys. Rev., p. 1, 1911. 


DEVELOPMENTS IN ELECTROMAGNETISM—BLOCH. et 


has already been considerably studied and shows very different char- 
acteristics than those at first attributed to it by Lenard. It seems 
to be produced exclusively by the Schumann or extreme ultra-violet 
rays of wave length less than 0.180 p. These rays will not pass 
through air although they will through fluorite and partly through 
quartz. It produces small ions of both signs, neutral centers, large 
ions, and ozone. It is extremely sensitive to minute traces of im- 
purities in the gas, traces which can not be detected by other means. 
It can be distinguished from the Hertz effect and become very much 
greater. All these conclusions are drawn from the researches of 
Hughes,! Cannegieter,? Lenard and Ramsauer,* and Leon and Eugene 
Bloch.t| The latter have shown also that the radiation transmitted 
by quartz and coming from a mercury arc ionizes the air feebly in 
the neighborhood of the are and seems consequently to emit a small 
amount of Schumann rays. In place of the usual source of Schu- 
mann rays, a hydrogen tube furnished with quartz windows, Lenard 
and Ramsauer used a very powerful spark between electrodes of 
aluminum. Then the ionization takes place even through air and 
quartz and the experimenters attribute it to rays of wave length 
less than 0.1 py, the smallest ultra-violet rays known and which were 
discovered by Lymann. As no measure of these wave lengths were 
made, it seems as probable that the effect is due to ordinary Schu- 
mann rays which have been partially transmitted by media generally 
opaque to them because of the great original intensity of the light. 
This question remains to be studied as well as the Lenard effect in 
general the knowledge of which is yet very limited despite the great 
number of interesting problems connected with it. 


1 Hughes, Proc. Cambr., vol. 15, p. 483, 1910. 

2 Cannegieter, Proc. Amst., p. 1114, 1911. 

8’ Lenard and Ramsauer, Sitzungsber. Heidelberg, 1910-1911. 

*Leon and Eugene Bloch, Comptes Rendus, vol. 155, pp. 9038, 1076, 1912. 


44863°—sm 19183——16 


esa dt 
age Fak Birk hale 
bin 


WIRELESS TRANSMISSION OF ENERGY.? 


By Exinvu THOMSON. 


It will be my purpose in the present discourse to outline the gen- 
eral nature of wireless transmission and to indicate its relationship 
to transmission by wire. It will also be my object to show why the 
wireless energy sent out follows the curvature of the earth and to 
explain other features which to many have been more or less puz- 
zling. In short, I desire to present in simple terms a view of the 
nature of such wireless work, so that anyone reasonably informed 
about electrical actions can obtain, as it were, a mental picture of 
the process. I may here state the fact that perhaps one of the earli- 
est experiments bearing on wireless transmission was made in com- 
pany with Prof. E. J. Houston, while we were both teachers in the 
Central High School in Philadelphia. This old experiment to 
which I refer was made about the latter part of 1875, and briefly 
described in the Franklin Institute Journal early in 1876. It con- 
sisted in using an induction coil which would give a spark length of 
several inches, then known as a Ruhmkorff coil, the coil resting on 
the lecture table, one terminal of the fine wire or secondary of which 
was connected to a water-pipe ground, while the other was con- 
nected by a wire 4 or 5 feet long to a large tin vessel supported on a 
tall glass jar, insulating the tin vessel from the lecture table. The 
coil had an automatic interrupter for the primary circuit, and when 
in operation the terminals of the secondary were approached so that 
a torrent of white sparks bridged the interval between them, the 
gap being about 2 inches or so in length. Figure 1 shows this 
arrangement. When the coil was worked in this way, it was found 
that a finely sharpened lead pencil approached to incipient contact 
with any metallic object—such as door knobs within the room and 
outside thereof—would cause a tiny spark to appear at the incipient 
contact between the pencil point and the metal. This, of course, . 
was not a very delicate detector, but was improved, as in figure 2, 
by putting two sharpened points in a dark box, a device due to 


1 Lecture by Prof. Thomson, printed after revision by the author, by permission of the 
National Electric Light Association, New York, 


243 


244 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913, 


Edison. One or both points were adjusted so as to make incipient 
contact, and the tiny spark observed between the points was an indi- 
cation of a shock, commotion or wave, electrical in its character, 
in the ether surrounding the tin vessel mounted on the glass jar. 
The tests for detecting the impulses were carried on not only in 
rooms on the same floor, but on the floor above and on the floor above 
that, and finally at the top of the building, some 90 feet away, in the 
astronomical observatory. Metallic pieces, even unconnected to the 
ground, would yield tiny sparks, not only in the basement of the 
building, but in the highest part, with several floors and walls inter- 
vening. I mention this old experiment particularly because it has 
in it the elements, of course in a very crude form, of wireless trans- 
mission, the wire and tin vessel attached to one terminal of the coil 
being a crude antenna with its spark-gap connection to ground, as 
afterwards used in 
wireless work by Mar- 
coni, and it also 
shows a rudimentary 
receiver or detector, 
a metallic body ar- 
ranged in connection 
with a tiny spark 
gap, so that electrical 
oscillations in such 
body would declare 
themselves by a faint 
spark at the gap. It 
was understood by us 
at the time that after 
each discharge of the 
coil there was, as it were, a shock, or wave in the ether consisting of 
a quick reversed electrical condition, and it was even imagined that 
there might be in this process the germ of a system of signaling 
through space. This old work was almost forgotten when it was 
recalled by the later work of Hertz, about 1887, who demonstrated 
by suitable electrical apparatus that waves of the general nature of 
light or heat could be generated, which waves are transmitted with 
the velocity of light, 186,000 miles per second, and that by suit- 
able resonators or detectors these waves could be made to declare 
themselves by tiny sparks. The Hertzian oscillator was, as it were, 
an electrical tuning fork, having an actual rate of vibration peculiar 
to itself and dependent on its form and dimensions. It was fed with 
energy from an induction coil and across its spark gap an oscillating 
discharge took place, which, at each impulse, died out like the dis- 
charge of a condenser, but during this, discharge it electrically 


WIRELESS TRANSMISSION OF ENERGY—THOMSON. 245 


stressed the ether in one and the other sense, so that an electrical 
wave was radiated in certain directions from the oscillator. It was 
found that these waves could be refracted, reflected, and polarized, 
and, in general, dealt with as extremely coarse light or heat waves. 
We shall refer to these, however, farther on. The general result, 
however, of the Hertzian experiments was to connect electrical waves 
in the ether surrounding the apparatus with the hght and heat 
waves and prove the identity of the two kinds of radiation, the 
differences being only those of wave length or pitch. 

Since the Hertzian waves were sent out from the Hertzian oscil- 
lator in substantially straight lines, and since in the early days of 
wireless telegraphy it was common to regard wireless waves as of 
the same nature or as almost identical with Hertzian waves, the 
fact that the wireless waves were found to follow the curvature 
of the earth became 
a difficulty to be ex- Fig. 4 
plained. Speaking FiQ. 3 ee 
for myself, I have — iN 

sa RUM R BERD MM 
never found the diffi- =\! feat | | t Fry lyylty\ 
culty to exist. There man ea | 
is really no reason 
why the waves should 
not follow the curva- 
ture of the earth, as 
it will be one of my 
purposes to show. We 
will, however, ap- 
proach the conditions 
of wireless somewhat 
gradually. 

We will first consider an ordinary wire transmission of the sim- 
plest type. Let us assume a line of wire, as in figure 3, insulated 
and connected to one terminal of the battery while the other terminal 
is earthed or grounded. A simple telegraph system on open circuit 
would represent this arrangement. The only effect is that the battery 
supplies a small charge to the line, producing a potential difference 
between the insulated line and the earth, assuming, of course, that 
there is no leakage of any kind to disturb the conditions. As soon 
as the charge is established in the line at the full potential of the 
battery, which, in ordinary cases, would take place within a very 
small fraction of a second, a steady or static condition is reached, 
which might. be indicated by electrostatic stress lines drawn from the 
wire to the ground, as illustrated in figure 3 by the fine dotted lines 
connecting the horizontal line to the ground surface below. If the 
wire be viewed on end (fig. 4), we must represent these stress lines 


246 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


as extending out radially from the wire and bending over to meet a 
considerable portion of the ground surface below. As this arrange- 
ment is constituted, there is no energy transfer and the condition is 
static only. If now the far end of the line is earthed, as through an 
instrument or device which uses energy, as in figure 5, at the moment 
of such connection there would be a lowering of the intensity of the 
stress toward the receiving instrument and the line would be dis- 
charged were it not for the maintaining action of the battery, which 
still keeps up the difference of potential between line and ground. If 
the line is without resistance, this potential will have the same value 
all along the line, especially if the line is of uniform section and of 
uniform distance from the ground. The moment, however, the in- 
strument at “I” takes energy from the line a current is found in 
the wire and a return in earth, and there is, so to speak, a flow of 

energy in the space between the 


FiQ. 7. wire and earth and in the ether 
—_— surrounding the wire, in the direc- 
‘N ie 1 i Pa tion of the arrow—that is, from 


the generating end to the receiv- 
ing end. Surrounding the wire at 


this time there will be a magnetic 
field, which may be represented 
by whorls or lines of magnetism, 


away from the wire in all direc- 
tions; and a similar magnetic 
effect, of course, is also produced 
by the return current in the 
earth. But on account of the 
conditions of conduction in earth being very devious and irregu- 
lar, it would be difficult to map the magnetism generated. The sys- 
tem of magnetic whorls so developed on the flow of the current in 
the system reaches, for any definite current, a definite density after 
a short interval. In other words, the density of the magnetic field 
between the wire and the earth increases only up to a certain point. 
If the current, however, be doubled in any way, that field is doubled 
in density or there are twice as many lines packed in the space around 
the wire. If now we took instead of an earth-connected circuit one 
in which there are two wires extending from the generating battery 
or generator, the conditions will be the same except that the stress 
lines will now radiate from each wire and connect the wires by lines 
directly between them and by other curved lines outside. Such lines, 
or otherwise conceived “ tubes of force,” represent the static field or 


Mae so called, wrapped around the 

wire like so many hoops of all 
sizes (fig. 6) expanding in size 
g. 0), exp g 


= 


WIRELESS TRANSMISSION OF ENERGY—THOMSON. 24.7 
the density and directions of electrostatic stresses in the electrostatic 
field where one wire will be positive while the other is negative. If, 
as before, the ends of the wire are free or open-circuited, no energy 
is transmitted, and the mere static stress exists. If, however, the 
wires are connected through an instrument receiving energy or utiliz- 
ing the energy, then the magnetic system is developed, surrounding 
each wire and passing between the wires, and on the establishment 
of any given current these lines accumulate at a rapid rate until, in a 
small fraction of a second usually, a limit is reached. The magnetic 
field may then be said to be fully developed. Outside of the pair of 
wires the magnetic disturbance extends to very great distances, but 
is necessarily weak far away. The magnetic whorls in this case do 
not center themselves in circular paths around the wires and at equal 
distances therefrom, but between the wires they are more condensed 
or pushed toward the wires 
themselves—crowded, so to 
speak—while outside of the 
wires they expand (figs. 8 
and 9). It must be remem- 
bered that these lines of force 
are merely symbols for what 
may be likened to a magnetic 
atmosphere. They indicate 
the density and direction of 
certain actions in the ether, 
called magnetic. It will be 
important to note, both in 
wire and wireless transmis- — 6 — 
sion, that the energy is trans- 

ferred in the surrounding me- 

dium. The wire in ordinary wire transmission is, in fact, a sort of 
guiding center or core around which this ether disturbance carrying 
the energy exists. The wire may be bent or coiled, expanded or con- 
tracted without altering the essential nature of the process. So far, 
then, ordinary wire transmission is really a case of wireless transmis- 
sion, with the wire for a guiding core for the energy (fig. 10). 

Tt would take us too far to attempt to explain or theorize on the 
modern view of the passage of electrons in the wire forming the 
current, and the field they carry with and about them in giving 
rise to the stresses in the ether surrounding them. Suffice it to say 
that a moving electron must not only be accompanied or surrounded 
by the static stress field which it produces in the ether but also by 
a magnetic effect representing the energy of motion possessed by it. 
When a current which has been started in a circuit reaches a definite 
value it may be said to have reached a steady state. It would then 


248 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


be a continuous current of constant value. Energy can be steadily 
extracted from such a system only by introducing some apparatus 
connected with the wire which is the guiding core for this energy. 

Let us now consider the case of current of a different character, a 
fluctuating—or better, an alternating current. Let us substitute for 
the battery an alternating current generator, and assume a single 
wire with an earth or wire return, as in figures 8 and 5. Here the 
wire merely becomes positive and negative alternately, for the circuit 
is incomplete or unconnected as a circuit, and the stress lines from 
wire to earth or to other wires reverse periodically their direction 
plus to minus and minus to plus. This is true, of course, whether 
the earth be replaced by a second wire or whether three or more wires 
be involved, as in a three-phase alternating current circuit. By 
connecting any two of the wires through an energy-receiving ap- 

paratus R. (fig. 11), the same ae- 
Fig. I. tion that takes place with the 
continuous current may be repro- 
duced except that the energy now 
rg comes in waves and is not a con- 
tinuous flow. In ordinary cases 
there are 60 complete waves or 
complete changes from plus to 
minus and back to plus in each 
second, and the system is then 
called one of 60-cycle frequency. 
A further important difference is 
to be noted between the alternat- 
ing-current condition and _ the 
continuous. The action in the 
ether around and between the 
Wires is now in the form of waves, both magnetic and electrostatic. 
Between wires there is an increase of electrostatic stress to a maxi- 
mum, a diminution to zero, a reversal, etc. The magnetic field 
also rises, falls, reverses, and so on synchronously. The condition 
is no longer static, the medium around the wires is in a dynamic 
state and it is now possible to abstract energy steadily from it 
without actually diverting current from the line. We can, in fact, 
by such a system produce in neighboring conductors similar disturb- 
ances or currents, and along with these disturbances we may deliver 
energy. 

The alternating-current transformer is then merely a device for 
bringing two or more circuits together as near as possible and en- 
hancing the magnetic values which would normally exist around 
such circuits by the addition of an iron atmosphere, the iron core, 
so that the greatest possible transfer of energy from one (the pri- 


WIRELESS TRANSMISSION OF ENERGY—-THOMSON. 249 


mary circuit) to the other (the secondary circuit) may be accom- 
plished. But in the wire itself, which leads from an alternating- 
current source, since there is an action called a current which changes, 
pulsates, or alternates, we have also around the wire core waves in 
the ether which, in fact, spread to very great distances; some small 
portion of the energy of each impulse not returning to the system, 
but passing outward into space as radiated energy. 

This radiation may be a very small amount per cycle, especially 
where the outgoing and return wires are near together and parallel, 
and with low frequencies, such as 60 cycles, on account of the low 
number of waves per second and the low speed or rate of change in 
the fields surrounding the wire, the amount of energy carried off by 
free radiation into space is indeed negligible. But if we raise the 
frequency we raise the amount of energy which can be radiated pro- 
portionately to the number of waves per second, and we also make 
the rate of change higher and the wave slopes steeper, so that 
as the frequency rises the radiation factor becomes more and more 
important in dissipating the energy of the system. It will be noticed, 
however, that such energy is not directed energy. It is diffused 
through space around the electric system at work and passes off to 
illimitable distances. Since these impulses in the wire, the electrical 
waves sent along the wire (with the wire as a guiding core), can at 
the maximum move with the speed of hght—186,000 miles per sec- 
ond—it follows that if the line is sufficiently long or the transmis- 
sion sufficiently extended or the path of radiation sufficiently distant 
the wave stresses or fields or currents can exist at different parts of 
the system in phases either much displaced or entirely opposite. 
This may be rendered clear by stating that while one portion of a 
very long line might be positive to earth another portion half a 
wave length distant from the first along the same line would be 
negative to earth (fig. 12). In other words, there may exist upon 
the system at the same instant a succession of waves in opposite 
phase. Just as in vibrating strings in musical instruments or vibrat- 
ing columns of air in organ pipes there are stationary waves, nodes, 
and internodes, so in electrical systems in vibration there can be 
nodes and internodes if the conditions are selected for obtaining that 
effect. Here the dotted vertical line indicates the nodes of the 
waves. We may thus have so-called stationary electric waves 
(Gipy12'). 

We find that on raising the frequency of an alternating-current 
system from, say, 60 cycles, the ordinary frequency, to 600 cycles, an 
effect which at first was hardly detectable now becomes important. 
It is the so-called “skin effect” whereby the current in a wire cir- 
euit tends to concentrate itself on the outer skin of the conducting 
wire, neglecting the inner copper, so that the inner core of the wire 


250 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


might be left out. Consider the frequency still further raised, say, 
to 6,000 cycles, this “skin effect” of the conductor still further in- 
creases until the copper in the interior of a circular wire of a con- 
siderable size is now quite useless, and to get the advantage of such 
copper we must, as it were, take it out or spread it in a number of 
parallel wires spaced apart, or make the metal of the conductor 
in the form of a long sheet or in the shape of a thin tube or a cage 
of wires (fig. 13). This, in electrical terms, improves the con- 
ductivity and reduces the opposition due to self-induction; the in- 
ductance counter E M F. Let now the frequency be still further 
increased to tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of cycles 
per second; then our conductor must necessarily become a still 

thinner or a still more extended sheet. 
At the same time, if there are considerable differences of potential 
between the conductors 


Fig.13. thus arranged, the ra- 

° o 8 diation factor may at 

: i 7 last become very im- 

Q : C) ‘3 Ke portant, so that if the 
; «ae parts of the circuit are 

Fig. 14. far apart, free radia- 


tion into space may 
dispose of a large frac- 
tion of the energy sent 
out. In the Hertzian 
oscillator, deducting 
that lost in the spark 
gap, practically the 
whole of the remain- 
ing energy supplied is 
radiated into space. 
The wave frequency may be very many millions per second, and the 
waves produced are in the nature of coarse light and heat waves. 
Figure 14 exemplifies diagrammatically the fact that with very high 
frequency waves a conductor carrying such waves will have surround- 
ing it, if the space is unrestricted, magnetic systems of lines reversed 
in direction with nodes between, the distance apart of these waves or 
nodes being determined by the frequency in relation to the velocity 
of light, each complete wave outside the wire occupying a length 
equal to the velocity of light, 186,000 miles per second, divided by 
the wave length or frequency. 

Figures 15 and 16 represent forms of Hertzian oscillator, consist- 
ing of plates or spheres a } of metal, separated by a small spark gap 
and charged in any suitable way, plus and minus with respect to 
each other, and allowed to discharge across the gap. The charges 
are then interchanged between a@ and 6 at a very high rate, 


WIRELESS TRANSMISSION OF ENERGY—THOMSON. 251 


though the waves decay rapidly, and the system vibrates only 
- for a short time or until the energy of the charge is dissipated 


in ether waves of exceeding high pitch into the surrounding me- 
dium. Were there no energy lost in the gap itself for forming the 
spark, and if the metal were a perfect conductor, the full amount 
of energy represented by any initial charge would be dissipated in 
the ether in these ether waves. Marconi, however, in his develop- 
ment of wireless telegraphy did not use the complete Hertzian oscil- 
lator. In setting up his transmitting antenna he took substantially 
half an oscillator, the other half being, so to speak, a phantom—the 
reflected image of the first half, as it were, in the surface of the 
earth, generally the sea surface. It would be represented by taking 
an extended copper sheet or surface coated with a fairly good con- 
ductor to represent the earth’s surface and mounting above it, but 
insulated from it, a metal body, such as a vertical rod, which could 
be charged and which 
could discharge to the 
sheet through a small 
air gap. In this ar- 
rangement not only 
would waves be sent 
out into the surround- 
ing ether space, but 


there would be cur- FiQ. 2A. 

rent traversing the 

sheet as waves of cur- ~~ i= Bhi 

rent around the spot “&Ss\\\ if Ge ma = Z 
where the discharge i [1 ges Se 
of the insulated body Wi 


took place. In fact, I + + rials Hy Me 
think it would be pos- 

sible to represent experimentally a Seats wireless system with a 
diminutive antenna to represent the transmitting station, and ex- 
tended copper sheet to represent the earth’s surface, and with investi- 
gating or receiving antenne set up here and there or moved from 
point to point on the extended surface. 

Here, although the disturbance and the energy conveyance is in 
the ether around the antenna (or the part representing the half of 
the Hertzian oscillator), the energy is guided in its direction by the 
current in the sheet representing the surface of the sea, just as in 
the wire transmission the energy is guided by the wire as a core. 
On account of the enormous extent of the earth’s sea surface, there 
is no need of a return circuit. The energy sent out moves in all 
directions, guided by the conducting water surface or land surface, 
as the case may be. There will necessarily be a rapid attenuation 


252 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


of the energy as it leaves the sending or transmitting antenna and 
spreads out to fill a wider and wider space around it. The higher 
the sending antenna the greater the distance which can be reached 
before the attenuation is too great for imparting signals. 

Let us consider for a moment by the aid of a figure the actions 
which must occur in wireless transmission on the sending out of 
energy from the transmitting antenna. Referring to figure 17, we 
will represent by e—e the surface of the earth as if it were flat, and 
for moderate distances this will be substantially the case. We will 
erect on that surface a tall mast A of conducting wire or wires which, 
at the top, shall have an extension to increase its capacity. This 
might be a large ball of sheet metal. Usually, for construction to be 
practicable, it is a set of wires—a sort of cage or a skeleton body. 
Now, by any system, inductively, conductively, or otherwise, or by 
what is known as close or loose inductive coupling or what not (figs. 18, 

19, 20) we cause elec- 

Fig 18. Fig. 19. Fig. 20. tric disturbances, such 
that at one instant the 
top of the antenna be- 
comes positive and at 
the next instant nega- 
tive, many thousands— 
even hundreds of thou- 
sands—of times per 
second. Inotherwords, 
we impress a high-fre- 
quency wave upon this 
vertical mast. We will 
try to present an in- 
stantaneous picture or form an instantaneous image of bans: the 
condition is at the beginning of the process. 

Let us suppose that the charge is positive at the top, and necessarily 
the surface below and surrounding the mast will be negative. Elec- 
trostatic lines will extend from the mast, and particularly from the 
expansion at the top down to the earth’s surface in all directions 
around the antenna, as in the figure. The medium around the 
antenna will be stressed electrostatically. This would be all, pro- 
vided the charges were stationary, but the system we are considering 
is dynamic. The plus charge is replaced by a minus charge at the 
top, and a current of a high frequency runs up and down the antenna, 
but so also does this current extend into the sea radially from the 
foot of the antenna, replacing the negatively charged area by a posi- 
tively charged zone, as it were, while the top of the antenna is now 
negative where it was formerly positive. (Fig. 21 A (p. 251), one 
side only shown, and fig. 21 B, in plan.) 


WIRELESS TRANSMISSION OF ENERGY——-THOMSON. ONS 


As this action goes on, however, the zone of charged surface 
widens, and ether waves are, so to speak, detached from the antenna, 
and electrostatic lines join now through the air or ether above the 
successive zones which surround the antenna as great circles or flat 
rings of the sea surface. A plus area is followed by a minus, a minus 
by a plus, etc., and to indicate the effect in the space above, we draw 
lines which follow these areas, extending up into the ether above the 
surface, but moving away from the antenna with the velocity of light. 
The moving charges in the sea surface represent radial currents 
which are in opposite phase at different portions of the sea surface, 
and spreading at 186,000 miles per second, and these currents neces- 
sarily generate magnetism or lines of magnetic force in the medium 
directly above them. These lines extend around in zones with dimin- 
ishing intensity upward from the sea surface as the distance from the 
surface increases. Even within the 
water itself a similar action, but 
more restricted, takes place. The 
charges in the water are connected 
by electrostatic stress lines, and the 
compensating magnetic field fol- 
lows the current, but this “ under 
water” effect does not concern us, 
as what we work with is the energy 
conveyed in the space above the 
sea, the other not being so easily 
recoverable. 

The system as thus far consti- 
tuted is merely an arrangement for ek 
delivering energy in high-frequency eee 
waves to the widespread medium 
around the antenna. ‘There is no selective action whereby it is 
focused anywhere—it is as a “voice crying in the wilderness.” It 
can be picked up or recognized in any direction by anyone who is 
within range. If, now, we are to receive signals such as are made 
by interrupting or disturbing at intervals this system of radiation 
of energy, as in ordinary telegraphy, we must set up somewhere a 
receiving apparatus which will enable us to pick up whatever small 
fraction of the energy reaches it and, if possible, a sufficient fraction 
of such energy for the recognition of the signals. If the signal can 
be recognized—no matter how small the fraction of the energy sent 
out is which we collect at the receiving station—the system succeeds. 
There is no question of efficient transmission, as there is in the ordi- 
nary power-transmission systems. The latter are for the transmis- 
sion of energy with as little loss as possible, the former for the trans- 
mission of signals only. 


254 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


In the antenna transmission just considered it is assumed that the 
surface of the earth is, generally speaking, a good electric conductor. 
The surface of the sea is sufficiently good. Dry land surface, how- 
ever, is not a good conducting sheet, and even though moist it is 
generally so irregularly conducting that obliteration of the waves 
and loss or absorption of the energy must necessarily occur. Obsta- 
cles, such as dry rock ranges, may absolutely prevent the waves from 
passing over them. It must be borne in mind that these waves have 
no inertia, as such, and that the energy must be guided to its desti- 
nation by a conducting sheet. This calls to mind the efforts that 
were made to connect Lynn and Schenectady by a wireless system, 
but without success. Occasionally signals were received, but in gen- 
eral they were too indistinct to be recognized. It is more than 
probable that the dry rock ranges of the Berkshires in western 
Massachusetts were sufficient of an obstacle to prevent the energy of 
the waves getting across them. 

It is also to be questioned whether there may not be another action 
which interferes with and disturbs the integrity of the waves. It is 
conceivable that waves may follow a water surface, even around a 
eape, and that a portion of the energy may take a short cut across 
the land of the cape. If this be so, the longer course would be 
around the cape, the shorter course across the land. The wave 
lengths would remain the same, and an out-of-phase relation or 
interference phenomenon would take place to a greater or less extent. 


It is manifestly necessary that the energy, by whatever course it fol-_ 


lows, shall reach the receiving apparatus in phase. 

Let us now consider for a moment the conditions at great dis- 
tances over theearth’s surface. At moderate distances from the trans- 
mitting antenna the surface may be considered as flat. _The conducting 
sheet guiding the energy is flat or plane, but at great distances the 
curvature of the earth’s surface becomes an important factor. Fora 
time there was a great deal of discussion as to the reason why the energy 
in the wireless transmission seemed actually to follow the curvature of 
the earth, instead of going straight away, as in the case of Hertzian or 
heat and light waves. If the waves had been generated by a large 
Hertzian oscillator, it would not be possible for them to so follow 
the earth’s curvature, but inasmuch as they are in wireless work 
produced and, as it were, positioned upon a conducting sheet (the 
sea surface), then it follows that the energy must be guided by that 
conducting sheet or surface, regardless of its extent or its curvature. 
IT have never been able to understand why so much discussion has 
been needed to clear up this point. Wireless waves have no inertia— 
they follow the course of the charges which produce the stress and 
of the magnetic field, due to these charges in motion. These charges 
in motion are the currents in the conducting sheet, which may or 


i 


WIRELESS TRANSMISSION OF ENERGY—-THOMSON. 255 


may not be curved. In the curved surface of the ocean the zones of 
charge continually expanding, plus and minus, respectively, are still 
connected by the electrostatic lines above them, and the moving 
charges still generate the same magnetic field as they traverse radi- 
ally or outwardly in the curved instead of the plane sheet (fig. 22), 
and this curved conductor still guides the energy, just as the wire 
does in ordinary transmission. It would seem, if this is the correct 
view, that at a distance comparable with that of a quadrant of the 
earth’s circumference the form of the wave would be such as to cause 
the stress lines to lean backward with respect to the surface, tending 
to keep their original relation to the transmitting antenna as they 
were detached therefrom (fig. 22, at L). This assumes that the 
velocity of transmission is the same as that of the speed of light, 
both for the currents in the sea and for the stresses above it. 

Marconi’s success as a wireless pioneer depended largely upon the 
choice of a sufficiently sensitive receiver. Two elements are necessary 
in the receiver. First, a conducting structure which gathers up the 
energy from the medium, the ether, above the earth’s surface. The 
other element is a sufficiently delicate means for detecting the slightest 
changes of electrical condition, not only actuated by what little 
energy is received, but so modifying it that it can operate a signal 
which can be seen or heard. Usually the receiving antenna is a ver- 
tical conducting mast or cage, like the sending antenna. In fact, 
the functions of sending and receiving are interchangeably used on 
the same structure; the same antenna may be at one time used for 
transmitting and at another time for receiving. 

The receiving antenna (fig. 22) serves to relieve the electrostatic 
stress in its vicinity, much as a lightning rod may act to relieve 
cloud to earth stresses. If its direction could be made to follow or 
be parallel to the actual course of the transmitted lines in the space 
near it, it would be most effective, and if, further, it could extend 
sidewise over a considerable extent of the wave front, it would gather 
up more energy. These conditions, however, can at best be only ap- 
proximately met. If the receiving antenna were of such a character 
as to have no oscillation rate of its own (a damped circuit) it would 
recelve energy in a small amount from the transmitting antenna 
independent of the frequency, but as this would in most cases be far 
from sufficient, it is desirable to accumulate energy in the receiver 
from a train of waves at a definite rate. To do this the principle of 
syntony or tuning is brought in. Everyone is familiar with the two 
tuning forks, where one is sounded and the other is placed at a dis- 
tance away. If the two forks are not in harmony, no effect of the 
one fork on the other follows, but if they are accurately tuned in 
unison, the sound of one fork at a considerable distance from the 
other starts the second in vibration and produces an audible sound 


256 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


from it. The second fork is, in fact, a structure particularly well 
adapted to gather up the energy of the sound waves which reach it, 
receiving from each wave a small portion of energy and accumulating 
such energy until the fork itself is brought into palpable vibration. 
By applying this principle in wireless telegraphy—that is, by causing 
the rate of vibration or frequency of the electrical waves to be the 
same in the transmission and in the receiving antenne systems, con- 
structing both to possess a normal rate as if they were to be electrical 
tuning forks of the same pitch—the amplitude of the received im- 
pulses is so greatly increased that signal strength is reached where 
otherwise failure would have resulted. The one thing which has 
characterized the more recent advances in wireless telegraphy has 
been the accuracy of tuning and the removal of disturbing influences 
which would interfere with the tuning. 
Formerly the transmitting circuit was excited by means which 
tended to disturb the actual normal rate. If excited inductively, the 
inducing or primary 
circuit had a rate of 
its own, which was 
apt to interfere with — 
that of the vibrating 
.antenna system. 
However, what is 
known as loose coup- 
ling (fig. 20), in- 
stead of close coup- 
ling (fig. 19), to the 
primary or exciting 
circuit causes such 
confusion of rates to be nearly negligible if, particularly in the 
exciting circuit, the current is well damped, as it is termed, or con- 
fined to a single brief impulse as far as possible. In such case the 
antenna circuit, in transmitting, acts as if it were a bell struck with 
a sudden quick blow, and it vibrates at its own rate without dis- 
turbance or interference. At the receiving end (and there may be, 
of course, many receivers in the space around the transmitting 
antenna), the “listening-in ” process consists in adjusting the rate of 
vibration of the receiving circuit by variable condensers or induc- 
tances, so that the maximum loudness of the received signals is at- 
tained. The two systems, transmitting and receiving, are then in tune. 
Accuracy of tuning is evidently very important if stations are to 
be simultaneously transmitting when near together, as only in that 
way can one station send out energy without interfering with the 
other; the particular receiver for which the signals are intended be- 
ing tuned for the particular antenna sending these signals. In spite 


THOMSON. 257 


WIRELESS TRANSMISSION OF ENERGY 


of the accuracy of tuning, however, high-power stations may, in fact, 
cause high frequency waves of high potential in all surrounding wire 
or metal structures if near enough. Burn outs, or even fires, may 
occur from this cause. Hence it is desirable that high-power sending 
stations should be well removed from centers of population where 
there are electric circuits and electrical apparatus likely to be inter- 
fered with or injured. 

It may be here pointed out that de limit of potential which is 
available in wireless transmission is the same as that of long distance 
transmission by wire and for the same cause. Naturally, if the po- 
tential on the sending antenna can be raised, the amount of energy 
which can be put into the wave impulses will be increased, but there 
comes a time when an increase of potential on the wires of the antenna 
gives rise to a corona loss—much as the increase of potential in wire 
transmission produces a corona loss. The conductors of the system, 
in such a case, are surrounded by a blue discharge which is even 
visible at night and which frequently can be heard. When this con- 
dition is reached every further increase of potential simply increases 
the corona loss without adding correspondingly to the energy trans- 
mission. Just as in wire transmission it can be avoided by increas- 
ing the diameter of the conductors, so in wireless work it could be 
avoided by constructing the antenna system of hollow tubes with 
smooth exteriors, and the imagination may be permitted to depict a 
sending tower of polished metal surmounted by a sphere of similar 
material and worked at millions of volts. No limit can be set to the 
amount of energy which might thus be radiated, and no limit as yet 
can be set to the distance around the earth to which signals might 
be sent by such means. 

One curious fact which has been developed in the work of wireless 
signaling is that daylight, especially sunlight, is very detrimental to 
transmission as compared with the night. That is to say, if the wire- 
less waves are to traverse the sea surface in sunshine, the chance of 
receiving them in sufficient force to produce signals at great distances 
is far less than when they are sent at night. It is probable that this 
difference is not due to any single cause—it may be the effect of a 
combination of causes. It is a notable fact, too, that this difference 
between the effectiveness of daylight transmission and night trans- 
mission is accentuated at the higher frequencies. 

Though the cause is still somewhat obscure, we may venture a 
suggestion or hypothesis which may have a bearing on the case. 
Referring to figure 23, we have tried to show the condition. The 
electrostatic field at the water surface at the same instant is as in 
figure 21 produced in zones around the antenna 4, spreading with 
upproximately the speed of light. It is well known that under the 


44863°—sm 19183——17 


258 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


action of the violet and ultra-violet rays of light any surface, having 
a negative charge will leak its charge and ionize the air near it. 
This may occur in sunlight over such areas as are marked minus in 
ithe figures, and the several minus signs would mark or indicate air 
ionized and negatively electrified over the negatively charged zones. 
No action would be expected over the positive areas or zones. But 
ihe zones are not stationary; they are widening very rapidly, so 
that a positive zone or zones takes the place of negative so far as 
any location is concerned. This may be expressed by saying that 
the water surface which at one instant was negative and gave out 
negative ions under the influence of light would, in an exceedingly 
emall fraction of a second and before those ions could get away from 
electric contact with such surface, become positive and the free 
ions would now return and neutralize a portion of the positive charge. 
Thus the negative zones or wave elements would lose part of their 

charge to ionize air, 
Fig. 23. and the positive waves 
would be weakened by 
such negative leak 
neutralizing them in 
part. This action, 
however feeble at each 
wave, would be con- 
tinuous over hun- 
Fig. 24. - dreds if not thou- 
sands of miles, and 
continuously damp out 
the widening system 
of waves. The effect 
would be less marked 
with low frequency 
waves, as there would be a proportionately less number of oppor- 
tunities for this neutralization per second. Besides, with the lower 
frequency there is more time for the separation of the negative ions 
to such distance from the water surface that they do not combine with 
the positive charges; being, as it were, better insulated from them or 
diffused in the air stratum. 

In figure 24 an attempt is made to picture this action of attenua- 
{ion in the presence of light. The negative charges in the air layer, 
as in figure 23, have no positive charges under them, the encircling 
lines about the ++ and — signs indicating combination and neutraliza- 
tion. 

When the wireless waves reach the receiving antenna, owing to at- 
ienuation from spreading or loss as above, they are very feeble. The 


y 
if 
Dy 


| 


WIRELESS TRANSMISSION OF ENERGY—-THOMSON. 259 


daylight effect, as pointed out by Fessenden, is much less with the 
lower frequencies, such as 100,000 per second as compared with 
600,000 or 800,000 waves. Consequently there is not the same great 
difference in strength of signals between night and day work with 
such lower frequencies. Moreover, frequencies of 100,000 or even 
200,000 are capable of being generated directly by high-speed high- 
frequency dynamos with the added advantage that the waves sent 
out are maintained at their full amplitude and are not, as with waves 
produced by spark discharges, subject to damping or decay from 
maximum to zero after a few oscillations. 

Whatever the nature of the waves sent out, there is in all cases the 
need of an exceedingly sensitive apparatus for converting the slight 
electric effects upon the receiving antenna into signals. The origi- 
nal apparatus of Marconi included the Branly coherer, used by 
Lodge in Hertzian wave transmission as a detector. It is indicated 
in figure 26 at A’, with its battery and sounder magnet J/. The re- 
ceiving antenna discharge in passing to earth broke down the in- 
sulation of the filings of the coherer, so that the local battery cur- 
rent could pass in the 
circuit, including a mag- Fig. 25. Fig 26. Fig. 27 
net M/ and so record the | 
signal. The liquid bar- 
retter of Fessenden, the | 
various forms of recti- 
fying crystal detectors 
and magnetic detectors, cs 
have been extensively 
used. Our time does not 
permit a detailed de- 
scription. Figure 25 in- 
dicates at C a crystal detector rectifying the impulses from antenna 
A so as to work a high-resistance telephone receiver 7’, to which the 
operator listens. [igure 27 shows the same apparatus, but connected 
inductively to the antenna circuit by a transformer. 
reaching the telephone 7’ was such as to produce a low note, the 
signals were easily drowned by extraneous noises or induced effects. 
He found that the human ear reached a maximum of sensitiveness 
at about 900 waves of sound per second, so that the signals were 
heard distinctly when otherwise they would have been missed. This 
is the meaning of the substitution of dynamos of about 500 eycles for 
exciting the wireless antenna in place of the ordinary machines of 
lower frequency. 

The problem of wireless telephony: has attracted attention for a 


number of years past. I well remember witnessing some of the 


260 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


earlier work of Fessenden in this fascinating field, in which he was 
pioneer. The wireless telephone speech was free from all disturbing 
noises and interferences so common on ordinary telephone lines. 
Briefly, such telephony depends on the ability to control the voice 
waves and vary in accordance therewith the energy given out by the 
transmitting antenna and to do this with a fairly large output of 
energy. 

By employing a method I described about 1892, it is possible to 
generate a continuous wave train by shunting a direct current are 
with a capacity (condenser) in series with an inductance, the fre- 
quency rate depending on the electrical constants of these parts of 
the apparatus. This system, which was the subject of the United 
States patent taken out by me in the early nineties, has been vari- 
ously called the Duddell singing arc, or later the Poulsen arc. Poul- 
sen employed it with modifications in his system of wireless tel- 
ephony. Long before this work of Poulsen, Fessenden had used a 
high-frequency dynamo for securing the continuous train needed. 
A suitable microphone transmitter was made to so alter the rela- 
tions of the waves in transmitting and receiving antenne, that voice 
waves could be received in an ordinary telephone connected with the 
recelving antenna system. 

Much progress has been made in this department of wireless work, 
and such telephony between Europe and America may yet become 
practicable. Methods are being worked out whereby it may be 
possible to mold outputs of many kilowatts of energy so as to have 
them vary with the voice waves, and when this is done many prob- 
lems, the solution of which now seems remote, may become solved 
and the results prove of great practical value. It was not, however, 
my intention to devote time to these later researches, but to endeavor 
to present to the mind’s eye a view of the nature of wireléss trans- 
mission which should show the similarities to ordinary transmission 
by wire and also the differences. Furthermore, I hope I have shown 
it to be evident that future transmission of energy at high efficiencies 
will still demand the wire core for guiding that energy to its 
destination. 


OIL FILMS ON WATER AND ON MERCURY:.! 


By HENRI DEVAUX, 


Professor on the Faculty of Sciences. at Bordeaux.’ 


[With 7 plates. ] 


Certain phenomena of daily observation are of great interest to 
the physicist. Especially so is the expansion of oil over the sur- 
face of water or of mercury. I have studied this matter for a long 
while and from all my observations several unexpected facts stand 
out. 

Films of oil tell us with the greatest nicety of the discontinuity 
of matter, and the dimensions of molecules. They also give us val- 
uable information as to the field of molecular action. For our 
observations we will find that there is no need of complicated ap- 
paratus; basins, paper, threads of glass, a pipette, a sieve with some 
tale powder, and finally some oil and benzole suffice for the greater 
part of the experiments. As to measuring instruments, a double 
decimeter will do, although its divisions be a million times greater 
than the diameter of the molecules. Though it seems like measuring 
microbes with a surveyor’s chain, we will see that the measures not 
only can be made but made with great precision, because of a very 
remarkable peculiarity of films of the thickness of one molecule. 
We will yet further see that the smallest variation in homogeneity 
engenders considerable differences in the surface tensions, causing 
the molecules to become exactly equidistant. 


1 Translated by permission from Revue générale des Sciences pures et appliquées, Paris, 
24th year, No. 4, Feb. 28, 1913. 

2This article gives a summary of all my researches upon oil films published since 
1903; it includes also several new results relating especially to films on mercury and 
the interpretation of certain observed facts with them. The greater part of the figures 
have not before been published. The following is a bibliography of my earlier researches : 
Recherches sur les lames trés minces, liquides ou solides (Proc.-verb. Soc. Se. Phys. de 
Bordeaux, Noy., 1903); Membranes de coagulation par simple contact de l’albumine 
avec l’eau (1. c., Jan., 1904) ; Comparaison de l’épaisseur critique des lames trés minces 
avec le diamétre théorique de la molécule (1. c., Apr., 1904) ; De l’épaisseur critique des 
Solides et des liquides réduits en lames trés minces (Bull. des séances de la Soc. france. 
de Phys., p. 24, 1904) ; Recherches sur les lames d’huile étendues sur l’eau (J. de Phys., 
Sept., 1912, p. 699); Sur un procédé de fixation des figures d’évolution de Vhuile sur 
Yeau et sur le mercure (Journ. de Phys., Oct., 1912). Several physicists have honored 
me by taking an interest for several years in my researches into molecular physics which 
has greatly encouraged me in carrying them out. I especially wish to mention M. Ch. Ed. 
Guillaume, president of the Société de Physique and M. M. Brillouin, professor at the 
Collége de France. 


261 


262 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


I. THE LIMIT OF THE HXPANSION OF OIL OVER WATER. 


We will first look at an experiment of elementary simplicity yet 
fundamental. Let us pour some water into a photographic tray 
and then remove all the impurities from the surface by placing 
upon it just a sheet of thin paper. Then I scatter on the surface 
a little tale powder and place upon it a trace of oil by means of a 
very fine capillary tube. The oil spreads out rapidly from the tale in 
a circle, since the normal surface tension of the water is considerably 
lowered. But if there is very little oil, such as the capillary will 


take up by just touching the stopple of the bottle, the expansion stops 


suddenly, so that we have a circle of oil surrounded by free water. 

Yet is the water really free? Perhaps there are traces of impuri- 
ties which stop the extension of the oil. This is not the case. 

Let us touch with a trace of oil another point distant from the first 
one touched; a new circle forms and extends outward from the tale, 
but the first one is in no way affected. No equilibrating impurity 
exists outside of the first circle, otherwise its surface would have 
been deformed and diminished. There is therefore a real limit to 
the extension of oil upon water. And when that limit is reached 
the surface tension is both that of pure water and of oiled water. 

Let us throw upon this water some grains of camphor dust. At 
once we see the grains in lively motion, but everywhere with appar- 
ently the same speed whether within or without the oiled region. 

We may proceed differently. First spread over the water a sheet 
of oil, powder it, and then try to enlarge a little portion of the oil 
film by means of a strip of paper placed across it and over the edge 
of this dish. At once the whole surface is covered, since the layer 
of oil was somewhat thick. But there always comes a time when the 
extension stops; the oiled region marked by the tale remains behind, 
although there is a surface of water free from both tale and oil. 
The limit is extremely clean cut and we have side by side two sur- 
faces with the same surface tension—one of free water, the other of 
oiled water at its maximum extension.’ 

Tf at this moment a little camphor dust is scattered on the surface, 
the grains will be seen in active motion. In getting out of the way 
of the tale they act like little tadpoles. If the surface is reduced to 
one-half all motion stops suddenly and the tale gathers around each 
particle of camphor. We may put upon the water a little tin boat 


1In 1891, Mlle. Pockel pointed out to Lord Rayleigh in a letter published in Nature 
(English) on the 12th of March, p. 457, some experiments relating to these facts. In 
enlarging progressively a surface of oil upon water or of water soiled with any other 
impurity, the tension of that surface varies continuously (abnormal condition) ; it in- 
creases slowly at first, then very rapidly, and reaches a maximum. Any further extension 
from the maximum point leaves the tension invariable (normal condition). If Mlle. 
Pockel had scattered an inert powder upon that surface to render it visible, she would 
have realized that, as soon as the maximum is reached, the oil would extend no further. 


a 


= 


OIL FILMS ON WATER AND MERCURY—DEVAUX. 2638 


such as I devised in 1888,1 and which is shown full size in figure 1. A 
little fragment of camphor is stuck with wax in a notch in its rear. 
A little mast bearing a streamer is fixed in the middle. This little 
boat, placed upon the water, moves rapidly and continuously so as to 
be seen from all parts of a room (pl. 1). 

T used this device the 19th of April, 1912, in Paris before the So- 
ciété de Physique. Placed at first upon water with a film of oil at 
its maximum extension it traveled just as on pure water, leaving in 
its rear a large wake; the tale was thrown out with a marked vibra- 
tion whenever it came in contact with the camphor, just as if the 
camphor corresponded to the propeller of the boat. I diminished 
the surface. At once the wake became smaller. The boat slowed up. 
I made the surface yet smaller. The boat stopped. I increased the 
surface, the boat again moved. 

We may thus, by the simple movement of a capillary barrier (a 
strip of paper), show to a whole audience the effect of 
sudden and considerable changes which the surface ten- 
sion of water undergoes when covered with a film of 
oil of the critical thickness. It is a very simple experi- 
ment and very effective. ‘Therefore it is particularly 
interesting to know what thickness the film of oi] must 
have at this remarkable phase. 


II. THE THICKNESS AT MAXIMUM EXTENSION. ci 


(1) Ef eperimental measures.—Lord Rayleigh, in his — yy¢1-camphor 
admirable experiments of 1890, tried to find what is the —-» oat (natural 


ate E : size); c, grain of 
minimum quantity of oil necessary to stop the move- crete the 


ment of the camphor? and found an extremely small _ stern: m, mast 
value, a thickness of about 1.6 yy. In 1891 he published ga ih 

the letter of Mlle. Pockel, which we have just mentioned, and in the 
following year * showed the stopping of the movements of the cam- 
phor by a greasy body is due, as the law discovered by Mlle. Pockel 
led him to see, to a sudden fall in the surface tension of water when 
the grease layer has the right thickness. In 1899 he published a 
curve showing the relation between the surface tension and the quan- 


tity of oil* and showed that the proportion of oil when the surface 


1 See La Nature, April, 1888. 

2 Proceedings of the Royal Society, 47, Mar. 27, 1890. A French translation of the 
article will be found in Conférences et allocutions de Sir William Thomson (Lord Ray- 
leigh), translated by Lugol (18938), p. 48. 

3 Philosophical Magazine, 33, p. 366, 1892. 

4Philosophical Magazine, 47 and 48, 1899. In obtaining this remarkable curve, Lord 
Rayleigh appears to have supposed implicitly that the oil on the water always forms 
a continuous and homogeneous film, even when its surface is much diminished; for ex- 
ample when he gets the quotient of the weight of oil by the surface occupied. This is 
proper only when the diminishing of the surface is small, say in the ratio of 1 to 1.3. 
Beyond this limit this process is in error, for the surface begins to assume a globular 
form, finally becoming a veritable mass of foam. We will speak of this later on, 


264 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


tension of the water begins to fall is about one-half that at which the 
camphor movements stopped. The thickness is therefore 1.6/2 or 
0.8 pu. But Lord Rayleigh gives it as simply 1 py. 

We may obtain a yet greater precision by a method using drops 
of a standard solution of oil in a volatile solvent. I prepare a 
standard solution of oil in pure benzole. I use a solution containing 
exactly 1 cu. cm. of pure oleine (trioleate of glycerin) per 1,000 
cu. em. of benzole and a pipette giving 50 drops of this solution per 
cubie centimeter. Thus a drop contains sp¢p, of a cubic centimeter 
of oil, and I place two of these drops upon the water. As soon as they 
touch the water, the drops spread over the whole surface; the evapora- 
tion of the benzole is almost instantaneous and leaves a residue of oleine 
equal to sp255 or 400X10-7 cu. cm. Earlier measures showed me 
that this quantity of oil could not cover all the surface of the tray 


p P 


Fig. 2. Fig. 3. 


Figs. 2, 3.—Arrangement for measuring the limiting thickness of a film of 
oil; H, film of oil; H, free water; 7'7’, barrier of powdered tale; BB”, 
band of paper. 


(625 sq. cm.). I blow upon it to gather the invisible film of oil at 
the farther end of the tray and then scatter upon the nearer end a 
light veil of powder with the sieve. The tale thus falls upon the 
free surface of water / (fig. 2); it scatters, carried by my blowing, 
but! you see it stops abruptly along the barrier 77’, which though 
invisible was sharp, and marks the edge of the oil film H. The 
stoppage is of striking sharpness. 

I now apply to the portion of water uncovered with oil a band of 
paper BB’ (fig. 3), m order to have a straight capillary border. I 
now make this barrier approach gently the border of tale which 
straightens, as is indicated in the figure.’ If the barrier is moved a 
little farther, the tale grains just at the limit of the oil, and more or 
less distant from each other because they are slightly oily, we see 


1TIt is yet better to collect the tale scattered upon the free surface by the band of 
paper itself. : 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Devaux. PLATE 1. 


BOAT EN ROUTE IN BLACK TRAY ON WATER POWDERED WITH TALC. 


A large wake of camphored water free from tale is very visible atthe rear of the boat. The 
operator contracts or expands the free surface by changing the position of the strip of 
paper placed across the tray. 


OIL. FILMS ON WATER AND MERCURY—DEVAUX, 265 


undergo an abrupt closing up between the oil and the paper. Retreat 
the barrier, and all at once the same grains become free, again floating 
freely side by side. By means of these sudden changes and by mov- 
ing the paper slightly back and forth, I can accurately, within a few 
millimeters, find the limit at which the oil is just slightly contracted, 
that is at the place where there is the first appearance of change in 
the tension. At this place I make my measure, determining once for 
all by my double decimeter rule the length of the film of oil. 

(2) Results.—We thus get the area of the mean surface covered 
by the film. In the experiment made the 18th of April, 1912, it was 
363.71 square centimeters. Now, this was produced by two drops of 
the oil solution; that is, by 400X107 cubic centimeters of oil. The 
thickness of the film was therefore: 


V_ 400X107 
Bit abave 


=1.10 pp 


with an approximation between 1.04 and 1.15 py. 

We can then state from this that the thinnest film of oil which 
can exist upon water is one and one-tenth millionths of a millimeter. 
This thickness, almost identical with that found by Lord Rayleigh, 
is remarkably small. A simple comparison will give us a better 
idea of it. 

Let us imagine a film of this thickness covering a globe 50 centi- 
meters in diameter; let us enlarge in thought this globe until it has 
the actual dimensions of our earth. The film enlarged in the same 
proportion will acquire a thickness of only 26 millimeters, while the 
paper which covers the globe and upon which the world map was 
made will increase from its original thickness of 0.1 millimeter to 24 
kilometers ! 

(3) Comparison with molecular dimensions.—But we may make 
better comparisons. In the molecular theory, the thinnest film of any 
substance which can exist is evidently made of a single layer of 
molecules; for it is impossible to conceive of a film thinner than a 
molecule except through the deformation or destruction of the mole- 
cule itself. 

We possess to-day very numerous and exact determinations of the 
Avogadro constant, allowing us to calculate molecular dimensions. 
We have made the calculation for oil, or rather for the trioleate of 
glycerin. Using Perrin’s value for Avogadro’s constant, we found 
1.13 pp for the molecular diameter. The theoretical value of the 
diameter of a molecule thus calculated is practically identical with 
1.10 py, the experimentally measured thickness of an oil film at its 
maximum extension. The difference is only in the hundredths of a 
micron. 


266 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


We know therefore that a film of oil at its maximum extension is 
formed of only a single layer of molecules... This remarkable fact 
is true of other films than those of oil, nor is it limited to liquid 
films. I have found it to be equally true for various solid substances, 
with this difference: it is the solid state itself which disappears at 
the critical thickness and not the surface tension, as with liquids.* 
T therefore derive this general conclusion: the characteristic mechan- 
ical properties corresponding to certain states of a body, the sur- 
face tension of a liquid or the rigidity of a solid, persist almost 
intact down to molecular thicknesses, disappearing abruptly the 
minute we go further. 

This fact has a general significance which we should appreciate. 
For the present, however, we will be content in seeing a new and 
direct demonstration of the discontinuity of matter and the reality 
of molecules; it is indeed a new method allowing us to measure the 
dimensions of molecules with a precision comparable with that of the 
best methods we have. 


Ill. THE EVOLUTION OF LARGE DROPS OF OIL UPON WATER. 


Instead of placing upon the water a very minute trace of oil, let 
us put there an ordinary drop of one to three hundredths of a cubic 
centimeter. We will now watch a series of phenomena as interesting 
as what we have just seen. Scarcely does the drop touch the water 
when it spreads out and covers the whole surface. But the film, of 
course, is very thick. It is hundreds of molecules thick and clearly 
visible, because it reflects light better than does water. Generally 
we see interference colors, at least at one phase of its extension. 
But this phase is always fugitive, especially with nondrying and 
fresh oils and when the surface of the water is very clean. This is 
the case with the present film. The evolution of a film lasts but 
10 to 15 seconds; indeed the principal phases take place in the first 
3 seconds. However, on water already oily, the formation is very 
much retarded and the film appears with a sharp circular border, as 
in plate 7. Soon its brilliant surface is pierced with black, circular 
spots looking like holes, where the water appears as if free from oil. 
These spots, more or less numerous according to the kind of oil, 
gradually grow in size, and each one is finally surrounded by a band 
of small droplets similar to pearls (pl. 3). 

The first of these spots appears near the edge of the film, where it 
is thinner than at the center. They grow very rapidly and soon run 
together. The spots over the rest of the film subsequently behave in 


1QLord Rayleigh in the research cited above discussed this question, but the knowledge 
then of the value of Avogadro’s constant was not so accurate. 

2 Devaux, |. c., 1904. y 

8The process of fixation of these films is peculiar and has been described in a special 
communication (1. ¢., Oct., 1912). 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Devaux. PLATE 2: 


FILM OF OLIVE OIL AT THE BEGINNING OF ITS EVOLUTION UPON PURE WATER 
(LESS THAN ONE SECOND AFTER THE DEPOSITION OF THE DROP). 


The center is thick (rings and interference colors), the border thin (brown of the first 
order, 100 yu, then paler and paler white). The film is, however, already pierced with 
circular holes, yet small and rare at the center, large and fused together at the edge. 
There are fine droplets at the edge. 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Devaux PLATE 3. 


FILM COMPLETELY EXTENDED, AGE ABOUT TWO SECONDS. 


Its spread has reached the phase when first-order tints appear. A general shrinkage is taking place 
everywhere. The central black spots have increased in size and fused together; their borders are 
much broken up and are surrounded by various sized droplets. 


OIL FILMS ON WATER AND MERCURY—DEVAUX. 267 


the same way (pl. 4), so that finally the film is changed into groups 
of droplets scattered over the surface of the water, which reappears 
as if free from oil, and uniformly dark (pl. 5). 

It is evident, however, that the surface of the water is yet covered 
between the globules by a very thin film of oil; and the persistence of 
this final phase shows that it remains in this discontinuous condition 
because the oil on the water is almost in static equilibrium. It is 
therefore necessary to distinguish two phases in the development of 
an oil film—the evolutionary phase, always fugitive, and the final 
static phase. 


IV. THE STATIC PHASE OF OIL UPON WATER. 


Let us consider especially this last phase, that of a very thin, con- 
tinuous film extended over the surface of the water and studded or 
not with globules or disks. We will begin by establishing an im- 
portant fact: the thickness of this continuous film depends upon the 
existence and dimensions of the globules. Because we find that when 
a film with minute globules exists beside one with great ones, the first 
always contracts at the cost of the second. Since, therefore, the 
tension is stronger in the former, we must conclude that the film with 
minute Le ae is the thinner. 

With regard to the thickness of thin films, we are then led to dis- 
tinguish four cases: the maximum and minimum thickness of films 
without globules; the maximum and minimum thickness of films 
with globules. Practically these reduce to three cases, since the 
maximum thickness of a film without globules is necessarily the same 
as the minimum thickness of one with globules. 


(1) MINIMUM THICKNESS OF FILM WITHOUT GLOBULES. 


We have already measured this thickness since it occurs in a film 
at its maximum extension and it is about 1.10 py. 


(2) MAXIMUM THICKNESS OF A FILM WITHOUT OR THE MINIMUM 
THICKNESS OF ONE WITH GLOBULES. 


(a) Principle used in measuring films of a thickness greater than 
that at the minimum: While the minimum thickness of oil films is 
easy to obtain and even to measure, because of the sudden and con- 
siderable change in the surface tension for small variations in thick- 
ness, this is not the case for thicker films; for when we pass the 
eritical thickness, the surface tension scarcely alters even for very 
great variations in the thickness of the film. It is therefore much 
easier to measure a film at its minimum thickness than at a greater 
thickness. 

However, since it is always possible, by enlarging the film, to 
pass from a thicker to a thinner film, this difficulty can be avoided. 


268 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


We can then in any case choose an oil film without globules having 
the desired thickness, isolate a portion of the surface, 8, then enlarge 
this to its greatest extension, S’. It will then have its minimum 
thickness. The ratio S’/S will be the ratio of the two thicknesses. 
Since the minimum thickness is known, we obtain the other thickness 
by multiplying by this ratio. 

(6) Experimental procedure: In order to determine the greatest 
thickness of an oil film without globules, I proceed as follows. By 
means of a glass fiber, I place upon the water of my tray a drop of 
several tenths of a cubic millimeter. It expands into a film which 
contracts very quickly into a multitude of little droplets scattered 
over a black film. I now place a sheet of paper over the greater 
part of the surface and move it very slowly toward me. Immediately 
we see the globules over the rest of the surface grow into brilliant 
disks which finally break up into smaller drops. Repeating this par- 
tial wiping away several times, the globules one by one disappear, 
each momentarily becoming a disk, multicolored or of brilliant white. 
Finally the whole surface of the water appears*black. But there are 
still very small droplets which may be made evident by slight en- 
largements made by jerking the dish. Each one gives a flash of ight 
and then disappears. The final phase of the phenomenon requires 
acute observation, especially for some oils which produce particularly 
fine globules. In such cases I scatter a light veil of tale powder on 
the film, then extend the film slightly and at once we see the talc 
thrown out in little circles about each minute globule. . 

(c) Results: The following table shows results obtained by the 
process just described. It gives the ratio between the greatest and 
least thickness we can have with films without globules. 


PETAL LEI EY cea SO I cee Ok Ao OS ie 1927 1. 28 
“TERY OT UE) 2 SS SS ie IR ne DU The 12 el t22 
Renee O Uber ats we EE gt ip telat ke eR eye ee L18 a 1S 

BSL Ess VOM peewee seek uM ie oad SET Ry Seek ee Sa 1.18 

WOE Ver A101 Seek ce 2 Rs Ree as a FR ROCESS RS 1.16 

Sheeps-foot “oile.3 hae Lees ee eh ee 1.16 

Castor Oi]! scares RE ey ee ee ils 5s) 


The ratio of the maximum to the minimum thickness for an oil 
film without globules varies a little from oil to oil, but it is always 
less than two. It is usually very close to unity, so that a film ex- 
tended over water can have a maximum thickness but little superior 
to its minimum thickness. We may otherwise state this. A film 
thicker than one molecule can not exist without nearly all the excess 
of oil forming into globules. 

(d) The formation of foam in a very shrunken oil film: The last 
experiment explains a very curious and interesting fact. If we re- 
duce an oil film from its maximum extension so as to diminish its 
surface to one-tenth or one-twentieth of its original area the film 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Devaux. PLATE 4. 


VERY ADVANCED STAGE IN THE BREAKING UP AND CONTRACTION OF AN OIL FILM 
BY THE FUSING OF THE BLACK FILM AND DROPLETS INTO DROPS OF VARIOUS 
SIZES. 


This film is about three seconds old. 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Devaux. PLATE 5. 


FINAL NEARLY @) STABLE STATE REACHED AFTER 10 TO 15 SECONDS. 


The oil film seems reduced to a cloud of fine droplets scattered over the water. Inreality, a very 
thin continuous oil film exists between the droplets. The figure of equilibrium of oil on water 
is therefore discontinuous. (1!) I say ‘‘nearly”’ because the drops are still undergoing small 
displacements; they are approaching each other and fusing into larger droplets. This fusion 
is often hindered by an increasing viscosity, leading to an apparent solidification of the oil in 
contact with the air. 


DEVAUX. 269 


OIL FILMS ON WATER AND MERCURY 


loses its bright aspect, becoming leaden and as if covered with an 
exceedingly fine foam. Microscopic examination assures us that the 
oil has changed into a multitude of droplets of various sizes, 10 p, 
5, 1p, and less. Working in the sunlight, I have seen the foam ap- 
pear before the film has been reduced to one-half its maximum 
extension. 

This is a new and direct proof of what we have just learned, that 
as soon as an oil film is so much reduced in surface that it is more 
than one molecule thick, nearly all the excess of oil forms into 
globules. 

(e) Variation of molecular distances: This extraordinary fact gives 
a new and interesting insight into the field of molecular action. It 
shows particularly that the forces which stretch out these films of 
liquids are due almost wholly to a single layer of molecules and that 
the surface layer. It is evident further that a film, if it is uniform, 
must be greater than one and less than two molecules in thickness. 
Now, everything indicates that a film is really uniform and homo- 
geneous, since the least variation in its thickness gives rise to con- 
siderable differences of tensions which tend to reestablish everywhere 
a perfect homogeneity, and especially the equality of molecular dis- 
tances. The difference between the states of least and greatest exten- 
sion can be dependent then only on the distances between the mole- 
cules; if they are compact in the first case, they can not be so in the 
second. At any rate, that is the interpretation given by M. Brillouin 
in a discussion which followed my communication.t The distance 
apart of the molecules in such films will be inversely as the square 
root of the surface. Accordingly, the square roots of the preceding 
ratios give the relative molecular Wistances. This ratio ranges 
between 1.1 and 1.2. 

It follows that as soon as the molecules of a mono-molecular oil 
film are separated by from 1.1 to 1.2 their normal distances, they lose 
all power of lowering the surface tension of water. Conversely, as 
soon as the molecules are brought together, so that they are separated 
by 1.1 to 1.2 of their normal distances, they cause an abrupt and con- 
siderable fall in the surface tension of the water, making it practi- 
cally the same as if it were a large body of oil. For beyond this 
hmit the oil gathers into globules. 

(f) Correction to the value of the normal molecular distance: The 
measure of the molecular distance 1.10 yy, given above, corresponds to 
films at their greatest extension. The true distance in normal oil will 
be somewhat smaller, say 1.10/1.1 to 1.10/1.2 or 1.10 to 0.92 py. This 
corrected distance differs decidedly from the theoretical value, 1.18 pp, 
deduced from the measures of Perrin. Some day we will examine 
the cause of this difference. 


1 Meeting of the Société de Physique, May 3, 1912, 


270 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 
(3) MAXIMUM THICKNESS WITH GLOBULES. 


(a) Method of measurement: This measurement is especially diffi- 
cult. After various attempts, I came to the conclusion that here the 
only certain method was to proceed by the extension of the film as in 
the previous case. In order to determine the maximum thickness, I 
isolate portions of great black spots (4.5 cm. in diameter) which have 
appeared very slowly from a thick sheet of oil (pl. 6). Then, first 
lightly powdering the surface, I enlarge it to its maximum extension. 
This operation is often hindered by the existence of very minute 
globules. In an instance where the globules were absent I noted that 
the maximum extension was obtained by about doubling the surface. 
It certainly was not tripled. We may say, then, that a film of oil 
at its greatest thickness, when the excess of oil has formed into disks 
in contact with it, is only about twice its least thickness. 

In other words, no continuous film will be stable on water when 
its thickness is greater than two molecules, whatever be the thickness 
of the masses of oil in contact with it. It will be necessary to await 
new measures before we truly know whether these films have a real 
thickness analogous to the maximum thickness without globules. 
That is, whether they are not formed of a layer of single molecules 
packed as closely together as possible. 

(6) Discontinuity maximum: We are now in the presence of the 
maximum of the discontinuity of oil films upon water. We may 
easily have upon the water disks a millimeter or more in thickness. 
I have noted, for instance, that a cubic centimeter of olive oil placed 
upon water already, heavily oiled forms a disk 30 mm. in diameter 
and having an area about 7 square cm. Its mean thickness is there- 
fore greater than 1 mm. and it is certainly 2 mm. thick at its central 
part. Despite this thickness, the disk is surrounded by water on all 
sides, kept in stable equilibrium by an absolutely invisible film of 
oil having a thickness one-millionth of that of the disk. 

A simple comparison will show how peculiar is this discontinuous 
equilibrium of oil on water: Let us imagine our film enlarged one- 
half a million times; then our oil film at its maximum thickness 
would be 1 mm. thick, and it carries instable equilibrium masses of 
oil whose thickness can reach and even surpass 1 kilometer 
(1,000,000 mm.) ! 

(c) Comparison with the black film of soap bubbles: I have 
already, in calling attention to the evolution of a thick film of oil 
newly formed upon water, spoken of the constant appearance of 
black circles which grow larger and larger and merge finally into a 
continuous surface dotted with globules. It is odd that physicists 


OIL FILMS ON WATER AND MERCURY—DEVAUX. oTe 


have not been struck long since with the resemblance between these 
“holes” in the oil films and the black spots of soap bubbles. The 
mode of sudden appearance, the circular form, size, and progressive 
enlargement are very similar, and each hole is really occupied by an 
oil film whose thickness is comparable with that of the black spot of 
the soap bubble. 

The holes in the oil film are, it is true, always more numerous, and 
further, they finally become surrounded with droplets and then flow 
together (pls. 3 and 4). In reality, soap bubbles often show several 
simultaneous black spots, especially just before rupture. Further, 
and which is of special interest, Herbert Stansfield* has called atten- 
tion to black spots in soap bubbles accompanied by collars of disks 
and granules which correspond to what occurs with oil films, only, 
since the soap bubbles are never horizontal, gravity necessarily pulls 
the thick portions away from where they appear. The confluence of 
the spots is not then peculiar to oil films. 

The phenomena in the two cases are the same, the differences aris- 
ing from the changed conditions under which the films are formed, 
an independent and two-faced skin in the case of a soap bubble, a 
skin adherent to and supported by water in the case of the oil film. 
Accordingly, the study of the evolution of oil films throws light upon 
the final stages through which a soap bubble goes when it does not 
break. It becomes reduced to a black, very thin film, dotted with 
thick portions, either circular disks or droplets. 

Further, similar, very large, black spots have been obtained in the 
films of soap bubbles by Reynold and Rucker? in their beautiful 
researches made between 1877 and 1893. Upon these films they 
determine the thickness of the black spots which were all found 
sensibly equal and equal to about 12 yu. Johannot? later showed that 
films could exist having a thickness one-half as great, or 6 py. 

We can now compare the thicknesses of oi] and soap bubble films. 
In both instances we have black films formed from much thicker 
ones. 

Black films of oil with a maximum thickness of 2 to 3 uu. 

Black films of soap bubbles, maximum thickness of 6 to 12 py. 

These thicknesses are of the same order, Oil films are certainly 
always at least one-half as thin as the thinnest soap-bubble films. 
This important difference must be due to the fact that in the case 
of oil films on water there is only one free surface. 


1 Proceedings of the Royal Society, 1906, p. 311. 
2A. W. Reynold and A. W. Rucker, Proc. Roy. Soc. of London, 1877; Phil. Trans. ditto, 
pt. 2, 1881, 1883; Phil. Mag., vol. 19, 1885; Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. of London, II, 1886; 


Wied. Ann., vol. 44, 1891; Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. of London, vol. 184, 1895. 


3 Johannot, Phil. Mag., vol. 47, 1899. 


bo 


72 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 
TABLE OF RESULTS. 


The following table gives a summary of the previous results and 
allows us to make useful comparisons. 


THEORETICAL REPRESENTATION OF BLACK FILMS AND OF MOLECULES. 


Greatest and least thicknesses of stable oil films expanded upon water. The thicknesses are multiplied 
by one million (1 mm. represents 1 pp.) 


1.13 42 Theoretical size of oil molecules (trioleate of glycer- 
ine),! calculated from Perrin’s data. 


1.10 42 Minimum thickness of a stable oil film found ex- 
perimentally. 


1.15to Maximum thickness of a stable film without glob- 
1.53 pe ules, or the minimum thickness of a film with 
globules, found experimentally. 


Black spot of oil 
films. 


2to3 yu Maximum thickness of a film in stable equilibrium 
with great globules or with masses of oil of 1 mm. 
or greater in thickness. 


6 ue ist minimum thickness of film of soap-bubbles. 


Black spot of soap- 
bubble films. 
12 wy 2nd minimum thickness of films of soap-bubbles 
or maximum thickness of the black spot. 


Tana 


V. OIL FILMS ON MERCURY. 


Oil placed on mercury shows very similar results to those obtained 
upon water.? There is still a very sharp limit to the extension, and 
the thickness of the films at the limits is sensibly the same. When 
the oil is abundant enough, it forms a thick colored film which grows 
rapidly with the production of black spots surrounded with globules 
(pl. 7) and finally becomes a very thin film dotted with droplets. 
Other liquids (sulphuric acid, soap water, distilled water) give upon 
mercury analogous growths. We have therefore here.a very general 


class of phenomena.’ 
VI. CONCLUSIONS. 


We see now that a concept which at first seemed chimerical—that 
is, the reduction of substances to perfectly homogeneous films only one 
molecule in thickness—has become an experimental reality. And in- 


1 See Devaux, 1. c., November, 1912. 

2Deyaux, Journal de Physique, November, 1912. 

3 Karl Fischer in his inaugural dissertation (Die geringste Dicke yon Fliissigkeitschich- 
ten, Miinich, 1896), studied the extension of two oils and other liquids upon mercury. 
He gives numerous measures of the thickness of films before their rupture. The thin- 
est had thicknesses less than 3 mz (rapeseed oil) and 1 gz (sulphuric acid). 


‘sjo[dorp o1R O10} PUB OID, ‘SmMLY pasny YOR[G Bais JO posodwmood oie YAOM YoU OY} UL ssurmedo oud 


‘W1Ilq MOIH_ | AYSA V AB AWIL SNO7T V Y314SV GSWHO4 ATIVYANSS SV 110 BSAIIO JO YYHOMLAN LV3Y5) 


‘9 ALVid “‘xneaeg—'E16| ‘Hodey uRiuosy}IWS 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Devaux. PLATE 7. 


FILM OF OLEIC ACID UPON MERCURY. COLOR, VIOLET-ROSE (140 m2). 


The surface of the mercury had already received a drop of acid which had entirely con- 
tracted into droplets. The new drop expanded very slowly with clearly defined thick bor- 
ders. These borders have already been transformed into chaplets of great drops such as 
are always found about the black spots which appear at various moments in the expansion 
of a film. 


OIL FILMS ON WATER AND MERCURY—DEVAUX. 273 


deed these phenomena work spontaneously and are visible to you 
all whenever a drop of grease falls upon the water in one of the 
ordinary plates from which you eat, so that nothing is more common 
and banal than these extremely thin films. 

The formation and stability of these films are automatic. The 
stability is so great that it is possible, without breaking the film, 
to distend it—that is, to separate progressively the molecules—until 
their reciprocal action is entirely destroyed, an operation which we 
could not perform upon liquids in bulk without leading immediately 
to rupture. 

With our films, however, this is a most simple operation and always 
successful; it is only necessary to increase the free surface occupied 
by the film upon the water or the mercury. Thus we have become 
acquainted with the fundamental fact that the extension of the oil 
film is limited. As soon as the molecules are separated by a distance 
greater by one to several tenths of their normal distance they lose 
all reciprocal action, for they no longer diminish the surface tension 1 
of the water. We have called this phase the maximum extension. 
Conversely it suffices to bring them together, by contracting the sur- 
face slightly, in order to see the effect of the oil upon the surface 
tension of the water reappear and increase rapidly, so that the ten- 
sion passes rapidly from that of pure water to nearly that of oil. 

These facts allow us to enter directly the experimental study of 
the field of molecular action.? They allow us to catch a glimpse of 
other mysteries to be discovered, other marvels to contemplate, and 
to delve into that domain of invisible elements of which visible mat- 
ter is composed. 

The little drop of oil has much more to show us. Who knows, 
indeed, but that it will bring us before long phenomena of the great- 
est importance, yet which at present we can not foresee ? 


+A curious exception is found in oleic acid and in soap, the molecules of which when 
stretched over water can be separated some ten times the molecular distance. Devaux, 
I. c.,, 1904. 

“M. Brillouin so stated in the appreciation which this: professor of the Collage de 
France gave upon my researches at a meeting of the Société de Physique on the 3d of 
May, 1912. 


44863°—sm 19183-——18 


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WATER AND VOLCANIC ACTIVITY: 


By ArTHUR L. Day and E. S. SHEPHERD.’ 


[With 11 plates. } 
GREEN'S VIEW THAT THE KILAUEA EMANATION IS ANHYDROUS. 


In a book,’ now little known and rare, William Lowthian Green, 
a distinguished Englishman, long in the service of the native govern- 
ment of the Hawaiian Islands, writes as follows: 


What we mainly wish to contend for and to impress upon geologists—for 
reconsideration, at least—is, that it may be a mistake to assert, as is so often 
done in the most positive manner, that water and steam are inseparably con- 
nected with voleanic action. On the contrary it would appear that elastic 
vapors have nothing to do with the liquidity of the Hawaiian basic lavas, and 
that as a matter of fact they do not seem to come up with them from below, 
whilst the basie minerals themselves give no indications in the main eruptions, 
of having been in contact with water, highly susceptible as they are, to such 
an dnfluence. 

Mr. Green was not only a keen observer of the manner of operation 
of the physical forces which participate in the volcanic activity to 
be seen in the Hawaiian Islands, but his opportunities for studying 
such phenomena were quite exceptional. His conclusion, supported 
as it was by many facts of observation, has therefore demanded, and 
indeed has received, consideration at the hands of geologists gen- 
erally, although until very lately no one has been willing to consider 
it as having any application to volcanoes outside Hawaii. 


BRUN MAINTAINS THE SAME VIEW. 


More recently Albert Brun, a chemist of Geneva, Switzerland, has 
offered data‘ (apparently without knowing the werk of Green) 
gathered from a great number of active volcanoes with intent to 
prove by analysis of the gases which he collected that water plays 


1Reprinted by permission from Bulletin of the Geological Society of America, vol. 24, 
pp. 5738-606, pls. 17-27, Dec. 16, 1913. - 
2Read before the society Dee. 31, 1912. 
3 Vestiges of the Molten Globe, pt. 2, 1887, p. 82. 
“Recherches sur ]’Exhalaison Voleanique. Geneva, 1911. 


276 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


no part in volcanic activity. His words are as follows (p. 249, fol- 
lowing a detailed statement of reasons which will be considered 


below) : 


Il est done parfaitement certain que le volcan paroxysmal werhdle pas deau. 
La preuve est faite. Le grand panache blanc est composé de particules solides 
et anhydres. 

Il faut done que la théorie aqueuse disparaisse de la science. 

(The italics are Brun’s.) 

Except for these two conspicuous instances, students of vuleanism 
have generally concluded! that water is usually if not always the 
chief agent in volcanic activity. 

It is not our purpose to discuss this question at this time except in 
so far as it may find application in the voleano Kilauea on the Island 
of Hawaii, but this volcano provided all of the material for Green’s 
discussion and a very essential portion of that offered by Brun. It 
will therefore be of interest to record some observations made in the 
course of an extended study of this volcano by the writers during 
the summers of 1911 and 1912. The purpose of these studies is to 
obtain definite information about the character of the chemical re- 
actions which take place in an active volcano, and in particular to 
determine the role played by the gaseous components, which are very 
important factors in both its chemical and physical activities. In 
many studies of volcanoes the gases have been allowed to escape 
entirely, while in others they were not captured until the nature of 
the components was so much altered by oxidation or otherwise that 
their identification, to say nothing of the determination of their 
relative proportions and the character of the equilibrium existing 
between them, has remained uncertain. On these broader questions, 
which are laboratory problems, most of the work still remains to be 
done. It is, however, quite possible to offer evidence on the partici- 
pation of water and of some of the other volatile ingredients in the 
activity of Kilauea in advance of this study, which may require some 
years before all the questions which have been raised are satisfac- 
torily elucidated. 


DISCUSSION OF THE OBSERVATIONS OF GREEN AND BRUN. 


First let us review somewhat briefly the observations which led 
Green and Brun to the same novel conclusion, that water has no part 
in the volcanic activity of Kilauea. In the case of Green such a 


1G, Poulett Scrope: ‘‘ Volcanoes,” London, 1872. John W. Judd: “ Volcanoes, what 
they are and what they teach,” London, 1881, James D. Dana: “ Characteristics of 
volcanoes,’ New York, 1891. A. Geikie: *‘ Textbook of geology,” vol. 1, London, 1903. 
S. Arrhenius: ‘ Lehrbuch der Cosmischen Physik,” Leipzig, 1903, It should perhaps be 
added that some have expressed the opinion that the importance of water has been over- 
estimated, without explicit denial of its participation in volcanic activity. (See, for 
example, J. G. Bornemann: “ Ueber Schlakenkegel und Laven, ein Beitrag zur Lehre vom 
Vulkanismus,” Jahrb. d, Kgl. pr. geol. Landesanstalt, u. Bergakad, 1887, p. 230.) 


WATER AND VOLCANIC ACTIVITY——DAY AND SHEPHERD. 2%77 


review is not altogether easy. His reasoning is based on deductions 
from many phenomena, such as appeal to an observer on the ground; 
great lava streams without a trace of vapor rising from them; a 
condition of great activity in the lava pit of Halemaumau (the only 
portion of the Kilauea Volcano now continuously active), with 
hardly a trace of any cloud above it; a rather conspicuous difference 
in character between the Halemaumau cloud (when there is one) 
and the clouds which arise from numerous steam cracks in the coun- 
try round about, etc. Perhaps the chief factor which clinched his 
conclusion was the fact (which we also observed) that there are 
times when a magnificent cloud rises from the active basin, separated 
by but a day or two from periods when practically no cloud can be 
seen, and this with no apparent change either in the character or 
amount of activity visible in the basin. He therefore concluded 
that if steam was the moving force, and if the great white cloud was 
the manifestation of that fact, its presence must be expected on one 
day: as much as on another in which the same gas and lava condi- 
tions appeared to prevail. 

He was also able to discover no diminution in the liquidity of the 
‘lava, either in the crater or in the great lava streams during those 
periods when no cloud was seen, and therefore no casual connection 
between the presence of the gases and fiuidity of the lava. 

Had it occurred to Green to try to remelt some of the solidified 
lava after the gases had escaped, this last puzzling question would 
have been clearer to him, for the crudest effort would at once have 
revealed the fact, which since then has often been noted, that these 
lavas, when reheated to the temperature prevailing in the lava lake 
before solidification, remain quite rigid—the characteristic fluidity 
has departed with the escaping gases. 

Brun’s statement of his observations at Kilauea is more explicit. 
In particular he offers six definite reasons for believing that steam is 
not present either in the lava basin or in the cloud above it. They 
are these: 

(1) The cloud arising from the crater does not evaporate in the 
sun as do the clouds arising from neighboring cracks after a rain, 
but can be seen floating majestically away often for 20 miles or more. 

(2) No rainbow or other optical phenomena can be detected in the 
cloud arising from the crater, although rainbows are abundant 
enough in the vicinity under appropriate conditions. 

(3) If the cloud were of steam emerging from white-hot lava, 
there should be an interval of a few feet between the point of emer- 
gence and the beginning of condensation (like the dark space imme- 
diately in front of the spout of a steaming teakettle) in which the 
steam should be invisible. No such dark space could be seen. 


278 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


(4) As the cloud rises past the rim of the crater on the leeward 
side, the walls about the crater, being comparatively cold, should be 
wet with the condensed vapor, Whereas in fact these walls remain 
quite dry. 

(5) A train of glass tubes was lowered over the rim of the crater 
for a few yards on the side where the cloud was emerging, and 
through these tubes (some 250 feet distant from the nearest liquid 
lava, it may be remarked) air and the vapors carried by it were 
pumped for several minutes, but no trace of condensed moisture 
appeared on the inside walls of the tubes. Examination with a 
hand jens revealed the fact that the tube walls were quite thickly 
covered with crystallized salts, some of which were stated to be 
hydrates or to be hygroscopic, but this was deemed to be due to 
original moisture (!) carried on the tube wall before the beginning 
of the experiment. No analyses of the gases or of the solid salts are 
given. 

(6) A dew-point hygrometer carried along the rim through the 
smoke cloud showed a lower humidity within the cloud than in the 
clear air just outside of it. 

Before proceeding to recount our own experience with these phe- 
nomena, it may be as well to express our belief that nearly all of 
these observations, both of Green and Brun, may be perfectly true as 
recounted above, and still offer no proof that the volcano exhales no 
water vapor. 


° 
THE EXPLANATION OF THE VOLCANO CLOUD. 


Green’s observation that the great white cloud appears but inter- 
mittently may be explained by a somewhat closer observation of the 
conditions of formation of the cloud without assumptions of any 
kind about its possible water content. For example, we noted, dur- 
ing several months of constant observation, that the visible cloud 
does not rise directly from the surface of the liquid lava, but rather 
from cracks in the inclosing banks,’ shattered, as they always are, 
by alternations of heat and cold as the liquid lava rises and falls in 


1 Cf. plates 6, 7, 8, and 11. 

Observations confirmatory of the conclusion that the smoke cloud when present does 
not rise from the liquid Java, but from the shattered floor and talus surrounding the 
basin, have been recorded by other writers. 

For example, Prof. W. T. Brigham, director of the Bishop Museum,, Honolulu, who 
for 50 years has been one of the most careful observers of volcanic phenomena in the 
Island of Hawaii, writes as follows: (Volcanoes of Kilauea and Mauna Loa on the Island 
of Hawaii, Honolulu, 1909) : 

Page 28: ‘* * * It should be noticed how small the supply of steam in the active 
outpour of Kilauea really is.” 

Page 28: “ When the pit is empty of molten lava, the smoke is often most abundant.” 

Legend to plate 45: ‘Lava pool below the rim of Halemaumau. * * * Little 
vapor rises from the portion which is active.” 

Legend to plate 50: ‘‘ There is little escape of steam from the lake surface.” 

William Lowthian Green (Vestiges of the Molten Globe, vol. 2) writes (p. 170): 
“Smoke, vapors, and gases seem to arise from the orifices of eruption and orifices in the 
neighborhood of molten lavas on Hawali, and not from the lavas themselves.” 


WATER AND VOLCANIC ACTIVITY—DAY AND SHEPHERD. 279 


the basin. When the lava is high enough to completely flood the 
floor of the basin, these cracks are closed and all the gases emitted 
emerge directly from the surface of the lava into the atmosphere 
and have the temperature appropriate to the surface of the liquid 
(1,000° to 1,200° centigrade). At this temperature the gases (sul- 
phur and hydrogen, for example) burn promptly on contact with the 
oxygen of the air and remain nearly or quite invisible. A thin blue 
haze can sometimes be distinguished above a bursting bubble + when 
conditions are exceptionally favorable, but this haze is so thin that 
spectators watching for it from the rim will generally disagree about 
its existence. 

This is the condition of no cloud (pl. 1) described by Green, and 
does not in the least suggest either a change in the composition or a 
diminution in the total quantity of the gases given off by the volcano. 

When the lava level in the lake has fallen 10 or 20 feet (which is 
an almost daily occurrence and often takes place within an hour), 
only part of the gases set free come from the free surface of the lava, 
and considerable quantities now appear through the shattered floor 
surrounding the basin. The gases bubbling out from the lava basin 
remain as transparent as before and for the same reasons, but the 
gases appearing from the cracks in the floor and from the surround- 
ing talus are now cooled in passing through the cracks to such an 
extent that they no longer burn on reaching the oxygen of the air. 
Free sulphur is then set free in considerable quantities, unburned; 
this we were able to collect without trouble, both at the point of 
emergence and on the crater rim. It is this finely divided free sul- 
phur which is mainly responsible for the beautiful white cloud 
(pl. 2) above the crater and not crystalline chlorides, as supposed 
by Brun. In fact only a minute quantity of chlorine or its salts (less 
than 0.02 per cent) could be found in the emanations from the 
Kilauea basin during the period of our visit. 

Our observation of the appearance and behavior of this cloud is 
therefore in full accord with the observations of both Green and 
Brun, so far as recorded, but there is nothing in the facts thus estab- 
lished to show whether the sulphur is accompanied by water vapor 
or not. 

Herein is also to be found a sufficient explanation of Brun’s ob- 
servations—(1), (2), and (3), page 277, that the cloud when present 
does not evaporate after leaving the crater, that it gives no optical 
phenomena in sunlight, and that it is immediately visible as it 
emerges from the floor cracks and talus without a transparent zone 
separating the point of emergence from the visible cloud—results 
which would be expected if the cloud consisted only of steam, but not 
if it contains much sulphur. 


1Cf. Frank A. Perret: “The circulatory system in the Halemaumau Lava Lake during 
the summer of 1911.””. Amer. Journ. Sci. (4), vol. 35, 1913, p. 341. 


280 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913, 
BRUN’S HYGROMETRIC OBSERVATIONS. 


The remainder of Brun’s observations of the apparent absence of 
water vapor may find appropriate explanation in the fact that they 
were made in an unsaturated atmosphere (as shown by his elaborate 
records of the hygroscopic state of the air during his observations) 
at a distance of more than 250 feet from the point of emergence of 
the gases, and the further fact that the cloud not only carries sulphur, 
but two of its oxidation products, SO, and SO,, both of which in 
these circumstances are effective drying agents. It may very well 
happen that water is given off in considerable amount by the volcano 
and yet remains invisible; for, in addition to the portion disappear- 
ing as vapor in the unsaturated atmosphere,’ a considerable addi- 
tional quantity will condense about the finely divided sulphur par- 
ticles, serving as nuclei of condensation. 

Furthermore, in our opinion, Brun’s explanation of what he deemed 
to be crystals of hydrated salts in his vacuum tubes and in the pipe 
line through which his gases were pumped is a somewhat fortuitous 
one, and certainly leaves an element of reasonable doubt whether 
their presence was entirely due to moisture carried by the tubes them- 
selves. The very care exercised by Brun would seem to make this 
unlikely except for the fact that it was offered by Brun himself. If 
it could be shown that these hydrous salts were regular inhabitants 
of the sulphur cloud, the comparative dryness of the cloud would 
also find ready explanation. 

Brun’s final contention (sec. 6, p. 278) that a dew-point hygrometer 
carried along the rim of the crater shows a lower humidity within the 
cloud than in the clear air immediately outside of it appears to be 
open to serious criticism from the physical side, although if one may 
judge by the space given to these observations in “ L’Exhalaison Vol- 
canique,” this is the point which Brun himself regarded as the most 
convincing observation of all. It appears to be a matter of grave 
doubt whether the readings of a dew-point hygrometer in an atmos- 
phere containing SO, and SO, have any significance whatsoever, in 
view of the well-known affinity of these compounds for water. The 
cloud could hardly be charged with better drying agents than these 
under the conditions described; it might, therefore, a priori, be 
expected to contain less free moisture than the adjacent atmosphere 
which does not contain these drying agents. Furthermore, the effect 
on the dew-point apparatus itself of exposure to the cloud contain- 

1 Prof. J. P. Iddings, Prof. H. D. Gibbs, of the University of Manila, and several chem- 
ists from the Philippine Bureau of Science have observed gaseous emanations rising in 
great volume near the volcano Taal, which were found to contain large quantities of 


water and yet gave no trace of a cloud. (Unpublished records of the Bureau of Science, 
Manila, P. I.) 


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WATER AND VOLCANIC ACTIVITY—DAY AND SHEPHERD. Q81 


ing SO, and SO, may be a factor of considerable significance. The 
first reading of the instrument might well be approximately correct, 
but subsequent readings would surely all be subject to the effect of 
uncertain amounts of SO, and SO, carried by the instrument in con- 
sequence of the first exposure. This would have the effect of render- © 
ing all the subsequent readings of the series quite valueless as a meas- 
ure of the water content either of the air or of the cloud. 

In order to support the view that the atmosphere within the cloud 
containing SO, and SO, is necessarily drier than air which does not 
contain these substances, several measurements of dew points were 
made by us in an appropriate laboratory apparatus, of which the 
results will be found in the table below. The first column contains 
the dew point of air at varying degrees of saturation; the second 
column the dew point of the same air to which 1 per cent of SO, 
(air + 1 per cent SO, is still respirable) has been added. All obser- 
vations are in duplicate. 


Observations of dew points. 


Air of ran-| The same 


dom water | air + ae Difference. 
content. cent SO2. 
| 
| 
° ° eo 
2 6.4 —0.8 
7.0 5.8 —1.2 
19.2 18.1 —1.1 
19.4 18.4 —0.9 
20. 4 17.5 —2.9 
20.2 18.5 —1.7 
21.6 19.7 —1.9 
PA it 19.4 —1.7 
21.5 19.0 —2.5 
21.5 20.4 —1.1 


Dew-point observations in the nature of the case can make no pre- 
tensions to high accuracy, but the effect of charging the air with a 
very small quantity of SO, is shown most convincingly. The effect 
of the addition of SO, would have been still greater than that of 
SO,, since it forms H,SO,, a notable dehydrating agent; but this 
effect is somewhat more difficult to examine experimentally and so 
was not undertaken; indeed, it was unnecessary, in view of the fact 
that the point at issue is abundantly proved by the observations con- 
tained in the table above. Brun has therefore proved no more with 
his hygrometer measurements than that the great white cloud does 
not consist entirely of water vapor, but it is not possible to estimate 
the percentage of water contained in it from any figures based on 
dew-point determinations under the conditions which he describes. 

From this evidence it appears clear that the observations of fact 
noted by both Green and Brun may for the most part be precisely as 


282 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


described, and still the conclusion that water is not exhaled by the 
voleano Kilauea remain in doubt.* 


AN ATTEMPT TO COLLECT THE VOLCANO GASES BEFORE THEY REACHED 
THE AIR. 


Be that as it may, in our effort to obtain samples of the gaseous 
emanations from Kilauea for further study in this laboratory, it was 
au matter of very great importance to us to endeavor to establish the 
facts in the case without the aid of inferences of the character above 
outlined. We therefore entered on a long study of the habit of the 
volcano with the purpose of going down on the floor of the crater 
directly adjacent to the liquid lava, there to collect gases before they 
had come in contact with the air at all. In the interval between May 
1, 1912, and January 1 following but two favorable opportunities for 
such an undertaking occurred, of both of which we endeavored to 
take advantage. On the first occasion (May 28, 1912) a column of 
liquid lava had worked its way up through the shattered floor adja- 
cent to the large active basin and formed an active lava fountain 
there several feet in diameter. Through its own spattering this 
fountain quickly built for itself an inclosing wall or dike. When this 
dike had grown to a completely inclosing dome (pl. 3), the gases dis- 
charged by the fountain were free to escape only through narrow 
slits in the dome, and there they could be seen at night burning fit- 
fully, with a pale blue sheet of flame, thereby demonstrating (1) an 
excess pressure within, and in consequence (2) that the gases re- 
leased from the liquid lava first came in contact with the air on 
emerging from these cracks in the dome. 

We accordingly made the somewhat difficult descent into the crater 
without mishap, and two crates, each containing 10 glass tubes of 
one-half liter capacity each, arranged in a continuous series, were 
then lowered down to us. To one end of this series of tubes a glass 
pipe line was attached, which led directly into one of the cracks of 
the dome (see pl. 4) through which the gas was escaping. The 
last link of the pipe line consisted of an iron tube extending into the 
dome about 12 inches. This iron pipe was also lined with glass up 
to the very mouth of the crack, so that, except for the 12 inches of 
iron pipe within the dome, the gases came in contact with no sub- 
stance other than cold glass and a few pure rubber connectors, which 
were made as short as possible by abutting the ends of the adjacent 
tube sections. Inasmuch as the liquid lava contains nearly 10 per 


1The chemical and physical tests offered by Brun in support of his conclusions (5) 
and (6), page 278, are also somewhat inconclusive. For example, he tests for 
chlorine with a silver nitrate solution in an atmosphere containing S, SOs, and SOz, and 
notes that it immediately becomes clouded, but mentions no test to ascertain whether it 
was the chloride or the sulphite which was thus precipitated. Similarly, he nowhere 
offers a chemical analysis of these particular gases which he collected in tubes at 
Kilauea, but contents himself with presenting two analyses of other gases pumped from 
lava fragments reheated in vacuo some months afterwards. 


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WATER AND VOLCANIC ACTIVITY—-DAY AND SHEPHERD. 283 


cent of FeO, the momentary contact of the gases with the oxidized 
surface of the iron was not accounted a serious disturbing factor. 
The other end of the tube system was connected to a piston pump 
about 4 inches in diameter, with a displacement of about 24 liters per 
stroke to insure a rapid passage of the gases through the tube system. 
The gases entered the pipe line at a temperature of about 1,000°. 
Their path was through the 12 inches of iron pipe, about 20 feet of 
glass tubing (pure rubber joints at 4-foot intervals), then through 
20 collecting tubes and out through the pump at the back. The 
pumping was kept up for 15 minutes in order to make sure that the 
air originally contained in the pipe line and connecting tubes was dis- 
placed by the gases from the volcano, after which the pump and pipe 
line were sealed off with pinchcocks and the crates raised to the rim. 
In this pipe line water began condensing with the first stroke of the 
pump, and at the end of 15 minutes about 300 cubic centimeters had 
accumulated in the collecting tubes. It was clouded with free sul- 
phur, partly from the original emanation and partly from the action 
of the iron tube on the sulphur dioxide contained in the emanation. 
In arranging this experiment Brun’s conclusions were known to us, 
and accordingly we had provided ourselves with apparatus for col- 
lecting fixed gases only. We were wholly unprepared for any which 
might condense in passing through the collecting tubes. What we 
obtained, therefore, was a quantity of the fixed gases, which may be 
assumed to be approximately in the proper quantitative relation one 
to another, and water, the latter in considerable excess from the fact 
that it was not pumped through the tubes with the fixed gases, but 
condensed and remained behind, chiefly in the first three or four 
tubes. There is, therefore, no way to estimate from the results of 
this experiment the proportion of water to the total quantity of 
volatile matter discharged from the lava. Perhaps this should be 
regarded as a fortunate mischance notwithstanding, for we were 
thereby enabled to gather a quantity of water sufficient to establish 
its existence among the volatile ingredients exhaled by the volcano 
beyond the criticism of the most skeptical. Furthermore, the con- 
densing water by its accumulation in the first tubes served as a kind 
of wash bottle for the collection of any soluble material contained in 
the gaseous emanation. 
The next day we began preparations to meet the emergency thus 
thrust on us by Gate in the laboratory of the Hawaiian Volcano 
Research Association’ an extemporized mercury pump of the dis- 


+The Hawaiian Volcano Research Association is organized under the general super- 
vision of the Bishop Museum of Honolulu, and is in charge of Prof. T. A. Jaggar, of the 
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, to whom our most cordial thanks are offered for 
many courtesies extended to us throughout our work at Kilauea. Mr. I’. B. Dodge, an 
assistant in the association laboratory, accompanied us in the first descent into the 
crater, and Dr. H. O. Wood, who is in charge of the seismologiec work of the station, on 
the second, both rendering invaluable assistance in carrying out this difficult and some- 
what hazardous task, 


284 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 
, 


placement type and vacuum tubes especially arranged to meet the 
conditions which we had found. These tubes were of the same ca- 
pacity as the individual tubes in the previous experiment (one-half 
liter), but were provided with a long stem, on the remote end of which 
was blown a thin glass bulb. The plan was to attach these tubes to a 
pole of convenient length and to thrust the end carrying the thin 
bulb into the dome, where the heat might be expected to explode the 
thin glass immediately, permitting the tube to fill with the gases, and 
as quickly to seal it again by melting down the broken end. The 
tubes were dried in contact with phosphorus anhydride and the de- 
eree of exhaustion checked by electrical discharge tests from a small 
static machine. When a number of these tubes had been prepared 
and everything was ready for a second attempt, the top of the lava 
dome had fallen in and the liquid lava in the basin had gone 
down to such an extent that it offered no further opportunity to 
collect gases under conditions which should assure original gas with- 


out contamination from the air or otherwise. In fact no other op- 
portunity offered until December 4.1 


THE SECOND ATTEMPT TO COLLECT GASES. 


On December 4, with the lava surface 360 feet below the rim, and 
therefore even less conveniently accessible than on the previous occa- 
sion, a similar dome formed directly on the border of the lava lake, 
and the second attempt was made to collect a quantity of gas—this 
time in the vacuum tubes. In order that there might be no possible 
doubt. about the excess gas pressure within the lava dome, the 
descent into the crater was made at night, when the pale blue flame 
of the escaping gases could be plainly seen emerging from the crack 
in the dome. The manner of collecting the gases was exactly that 
which was planned and described above, and six tubes were filled 
with gas under these conditions. 

On descending into the crater to collect gases from the December 
dome, it was found that in addition to a long sht or crack across the 
top, from which the gases were discharging constantly, there was a 
second opening near the base which was not noticed before the descent, 
but which gave access to air at the base of the dome and thus behaved 
like an air blast in a furnace. The gases were therefore partly 
burned within the dome instead of outside, and the tubes, which were 
filled at the upper opening, were accordingly found to contain chiefly 
burned gases—that is, the free hydrogen had become water, the free 
sulphur had burned to SO., the CO appeared as CO.,, ete. 

Although the identity and something of the relation of the gases 
discharged from the basin of Halemaumau can be established from a 


1In the meantime one of the authors (Day) was obliged to return to Washington, 
leaving the other (Shepherd) to finish the task alone. 


WATER AND VOLCANIC ACTIVITY—DAY AND SHEPHERD. 285 


study of the material collected in May, the determination of the exact 
proportion of water to the other gases present must await another 
favorable opportunity. It may perhaps be added that a complete 
equipment for another attempt lies ready at the laboratory of the 
Volcano Research Association on the crater rim, but the lava lake 
disappeared completely from view soon after the December descent 
was made and has not again reappeared. 

Although the continuation of the field studies must await the 
gracious pleainie of the most fickle of goddesses, it need not delay the 
prosecution of the laboratory study of the relations between the gases 
already found or the preliminary discussion of the results thus far 
attained. Moreover, in the discussion which follows, evidence will be 
offered that the composition of the gases varies within considerable 
limits, so that the precise proportions of the gases which go to make 
up the exhalation at any particular moment may prove to be of less 
importance than was at first believed. 


CHEMICAL STUDY OF THE MATERIAL COLLECTED. 


From a physicochemical viewpoint, the study of volcanic activity 
centers first on the nature of the participating ingredients, then on 
the condition of equilibrium or the progress of the reactions taking 
place between them, as the case may be. At the time of our two 
visits all the three states of matter—gaseous, liquid, and solid—were 
found represented. Gases were emitted constantly in great volume, 
and displayed nearly all the great variety of cloud forms which have 
been so frequently described in volcano literature except the violently 
explosive type, which has been rarely or never seen at Kilauea since 
the advent of the white man (1820). There was a liquid lava basin 
of oval shape some 600 by 300 feet, inclosed by a lava dike or rampart 
built up from the surrounding floor of the basin by the tumultuous 
spattering and splashing of the lava lake (pl. 5). Both floor and 
rampart are frequently overflowed when the lake is high, and again 
great masses of it fall into the lake and are redissolved when it is 
low. The fioor of the pit at the time of our first descent in May, 1912, 
had been completely overflowed but three days before and was rea- 
sonably level. The fresh lava had solidified to a depth of some 10 
inches and was abundantly solid to walk on, but was still uncomfort- 
ably hot and the cracks were still glowing. 

Surrounding this floor are the walls of the pit, some 200 feet high 
at the time of our first descent and made up of the exposed edges of 
successive earlier overflows (pl. 6), which individually rarely ex- 
eeeded 2 or 3 feet in thickness. The (Halemaumau) pit as a whole 
was about 1,500 feet in diameter, roughly circular in plan, and with 
nearly perpendicular walls except for the talus pile ‘at the base, which 
extended about half way up the wall. All these dimensions vary 


286 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


somewhat from day to day and considerably from year to year with 
the state of activity in the basin. The appearance of the lake and its 
surroundings is perhaps best shown by a photograph (pl. 7) made 
from a slight elevation above the floor of the active basin on May 
23, 1912. 

ANALYSES OF THE LAVA, 


The composition of the liquid lava in the lake and of the solid floor 
of the Kilauea crater near the Halemaumau pit may be seen from 
analysis la and 16, which follow: 


TABLE 1. A 
Analysis 1a, Analysis 1b. 
Lava from floor of Kilauea: Forty Lava dipped from Halemaumau 


to 50 per cent glass; 5 to 10 per cent July 23, 1911. Glass, with 1 per cent 
olivine; 5 to 10 per cent feldspar’ feldspar and trace of crystals of either 
phenocryst; rest very fine crystals. magnetite or pyroxene. Index 1.605, 


(Merwin.) lining of bubbles slightly higher. 
Percent. ( Merwin.) 
SSC Gp ies TL ah ea imate 50. 07 Per cent, 
D4 nk pes ale te tr a rot rs ato Ld 13.32)" SIO 2 ee eee 49. 74. 
Fe.O;___- ER Se ee eee 1. 92 AloOgi) 2 SiR E AREY Sue eae 12. 36 
OBC RED SET ere MEETS Ta eae 9, 28 Peg see ee ag 88 ee hee ree 1, 64 
Rie et! 4, nese ee ONY Mie@a” at alin ye Eee er 
(EN ESN SS SAR SP Ta 2 EE 10.,64. -; MgO). eX... ee eee eee 8. 83 
ROOD ete (O) ee OE eel 2 ee Oia ae eB ks Gu CO) Miss Wen Uh Lae ee 10. 88 
LSE) cs eT a a i ag SAS IN ei One Ses eae 2. 45 
Did A Fi eal a a eal ech O° 49.0 SK Ost Se Poh ES ae 0. 55 
DAG == it A Eo a a EE O22) MEO Re See Eo Ee ee ee 0.17 
CO 5e5 I 20 2 A ee None: 44 LO st 2u ue ae ae 0. 05 
AMOR Se ees ee ees are Di 10 (ROO? oe. Se ee ee eee None 
PAV Os ae A a NONE 4 RIO oye ee ee eae Se ee 2.49 
LER Ope LR oS SA ae eee OP ZO AW ZO sae 2 Wis ae oa eee Trace. 
1S ess carn lS a NODGS > 3PuOke a. a 0. 41 
CO a ht Pl Sa a 0. 08 SO gh at Ses eee ee Trace 
lied. DReh sted Ree ees Bree eee eee NOME! OIE Pcey 2 ee eee 0. 10 
So Sa ae Og a oe a 0. Tsp Wells 24s Le eee None 
OTTO PRUs SPIN: Ce SRNR «lee eae Oh .OB Se a 0. 04 
(Min @ nee eee Bee ee O.16 Cr Ogee eee eee 0. 04 
nC) Rea Eat es ee a 0:04 0 MnO 222222 2 eee 0. 14 
TOV G lat elie SE eI None.) NiOw 22 UA ee eee 0. 05 
Sr et LA P82 Trace. GBaOss! {oleae ) ae Trace 
LIST O ogee 2) SSL oe Os None) SrOQ.saeo2 cuca at) tee 0. 07 
eee a ne lp a Sw None... isOc sah LeU ee eee ees None 
Awe Bom pin a sg el None.» VsQse. 22 ee eee 0. 02 
MOO ies soko eet ates Oe eS Trace: . ‘Rare earths. 2.3 eee eee Trace. 
Teiition Tossa. et | eee 0:36." MOOs. en ee ee 0. 01 
99. 96 100, 12 


| 


After correction for Cl, ete___-- 99.89 After correction for Cl, ete..--- 100.08 


‘aINSOdX9 Ot] 10}}B SJUSWIOUT AVF BORE 9Y OUT [Tay eamiotd ayy Jo 19yU00 
Of} FO IOT OYF OF OLATT B OXTP oy Jo uofrod VW “WMOYS TAAL SI BART 0] JO Surso}eds ay) 0} oNp OYIp SuIsopoUT oy ‘Foye 109) ¥ ATOIIpPEUIUMT TOAD OY) UITIIM USAR, 


“(CLBL ‘8g AVI) SONVY 3SO1D LV 3XV] VAY] SHL 4O MSA 


*¢ ALVId *preydays pue Aeg—'¢|6| ‘Hodey urjuosyziWs 


sa 


‘BART OATIO“ OY} VAOGB IYOUS JO 9OUDSGB OY} OJON “41d 9} JO [[BA\ SuISO[OUT oy) Os[e SurMoyg 


“(ElL6L ‘6S ANN) SAONVY 3SO1D LV 3NV7] VAY] SHL SO MAA 


— agpte, 


- 
sete 
BE aS 


"9 31LV1d ‘paaydays pue Aeq— e161 ‘Hodey ueiuosy}iLUS 


WATER AND VOLCANIC ACTIVITY—DAY AND SHEPHERD. 287 


The sample 1b was dipped from the middle of the lava lake on 
July 23, 1911, by Mr. Frank A. Perret and one of the authors (Shep- 
herd), with the help of a cable and trolley, stretched directly across 
the center of the pit, and appropriate tackle. The sample la was 
taken from one of the recent overflows on the main floor of the 
Kilauea crater and may perhaps be 15 or 20 years old. The sub- 
stantial identity of the analyses with each other and with other 
recent analyses of the lavas of Hawaii* shows that no material 
change in its composition has taken place in recent years. The most 
noticeable feature of the new analyses is perhaps the presence of a 
small amount of molybdenum, which appears not to have been de- 
tected hitherto. The analyses were most carefully made by Mr. 
John B. Ferguson, of this laboratory, to whom we take this oppor- 
tunity to express our thanks. 


THE GASES AND DIFFERENT WAYS OF STUDYING THEM. 


The problem of collecting voleanic gases which are satisfactory 
from the chemical viewpoint is a much more difficult matter, as has 
been already intimated. Hot gases of more or less complicated com- 
position discharged from an active volcanic vent into the air undergo 
immediate and violent chemical and temperature changes, the conse- 
quences of which, with our present limited knowledge of gas relations 
at these temperatures, can be only partly inferred. It is therefore a 
matter of the first importance to collect the gases directly from the 
liquid lava or the explosive vents before contact with the air has given 
opportunity for these alterations to occur. It may very well be that 
the physical difficulties attending the collection of volcanic exhala- 
tions, particularly from volcanoes of the explosive type, will often 
make it impossible to obtain unaltered magmatic gases for laboratory 
study, in which case burned gases, or even very dilute mixtures of 
these with air, may prove to be the only products available for study. 
In this event the student must perforce bow to the necessities of the 
case, 

Something of the same cautious attitude requires to be maintained 
toward the study of the flame spectra of burning volcanic gases. The 
pocket spectroscope is primarily an instrument of preliminary recon- 
naissance in the field and is sometimes of value, but the pale-blue 
flames of sulphur and hydrogen are extremely difficult to analyze 
with the pocket spectroscope, and can not be distinguished at all 
against a bright background of solid or liquid lava. For this reason 


1This expedition was sent out by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Prof. 
T. A. Jaggar) in the summer of 1911 for the purpose of securing a trustworthy measure- 
ment of the temperature in the lava lake. The record of the expedition has not been 
published. 

a A. Daly: Magmatic differentiation in Hawaii. Journal of Geology, vol. 19, 1911, 
p. 305. 

W, T. Brigham ; Loe. cit., p. 33. 


288 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913, 


a more elaborate spectroscopic equipment would not help the matter. 
Moreover, the gases are much altered or are in process of active 
alteration before any opportunity for identification is offered, and 
no estimate of the relative quantity of the various participating 
gases is possible by this means. Inferences from the chemical study 
of gases which have been burned by contact with the air while still 
hot and inferences from the spectroscopic study of the gases while 
burning therefore suffer alike from limitations of principle and 
should be resorted to only when the difficulty of collecting unaltered 
gas is insuperable. 

These reasons may serve to show why this somewhat elaborate 
effort was made to collect unaltered gases for laboratory study and 
why we are inclined to give greater weight to the results obtained 
from the study of such gases than to many of the earlier studies? of 
voleanic emanations, in which the gases had become altered through 
contact with the air or otherwise. 

The domes from which these gases were collected were built up by 
the lava itself on the floor of the crater (Halemaumau) and were 
both chemically and physically ideal gas collectors, being lined with 
fresh splashes of liquid lava of the same temperature and chemical 
composition as that from which the gas had just emerged. They 
formed at the level of the lava lake and, as could be plainly seen 
after the collapse of the domes, were directly connected with the 
lake by channels of liquid lava just below the surface crust. The 
collapse of the entire channel leading to the May dome is shown in 
plate 8, figure 1, in which an arrow (t+) has been placed to indicate 
the position where the dome stood. The May dome was under con- 
stant observation for several days and a considerable portion of the 
night immediately previous to the collection, during which time 
there was no cessation of the lava fountain spouting within the dome 
nor of the flames of the burning gases as they escaped through its 
cracks. Furthermore, as the larger bubbles rose and burst from the 
liquid Java within the dome, the jar could be felt on the floor where 
the collectors stood and the splash could be plainly seen through the 
cracks. — fie 

se ANALYSES OF THE GASES COLLECTED IN MAY, 1912. 


The following analyses were made of the fixed gases collected in 
glass-tubes on May 28, 1912, in the manner above described. ‘The 
statement is given in parts by volume. The tubes were numbered 
from 1 to 20 in the order in which the gases entered from the voleano. 
Allthe tubes contained condensed water (the first—pl. 8, fig. 2, 
containing nearly 100 cu. em.), of which analyses will be feund- on 
page 292. saasde, 


1H. g., Wm. Libbey: Amer, Journ, Sci. (8), vol. 47, 1894, p. 371. 


‘IaJOWIBIP UL Joo] OF INO SI arqqnq Sursing ogy, “punosrse10y 9y} ur BART Ador JO UOIBUIIOJ VY] PUB YS PUB IJoT YIOG MOYAVAO oY] OJON 


“(SL6BL io? AVIA) ALIAILOWY SLVYSGO|) SO GOlYad V NI 3JIOHM V SV 3xXV7] SHL SO MIA 


“LZ 3LV1d ‘praydays pue Aeg—¢16| ‘Hodey uejuosyyWS 


‘SYSLVM SINVOTIOA GASNSGNOO0 SONINIVLNOO 38NL GNV G3L037700 3YaM S3SVD S3YSHM 3yV7 


‘sIoJ9UIN Us) 3 


10 OOL JNOQ®B ST ‘OH Bl 94] Jo 


Ayyuenb sy A+Ppesuepuoo BUuTMOYg UNI’ UB SPU9}X9 SONSST PNO[Y 9Y} LOY M YOVIO oy} YJBVoOUS ‘“poOojs pRy oMOp ayy sey ooryd (f) SsUIMOUS 
“SISATVNW YOS AGVAY AYOL “(SL6L ‘So ANNP) 
-VuyOEdV] SHL NI | “ON 38NL JO MAlA—"S ‘SI4 G3L93T1090 3Y3AM S3SV5) YALSV SAVG SAI4 YOOT4 GSYSLLVHS SHL GNV 3aXNV7 JO M3IA—"| ‘OI4 


°8 ALV1d 


*paaydaus pue Aeq—'¢e|6| ‘YH d 94 UBIUOSUPIWS 


WATER AND VOLCANIC ACTIVITY—DAY AND SHEPHERD. 289 


TABLE 2.—The gases from Halemaumau (Kilauea), May, 1912. 


[Percentages by volume.} 


Tube 1. | Tube 2. | Tube 8. | Tube 10. | Tubo 17. 


Wipe encanto so ase setae coos ac sales Ses esees 


THE INFLUENCE OF THE IRON COLLECTING TUBE. 


In the 15 minutes during which pumping was continued the short 
length of iron pipe which extended into the dome was partly de- 
stroyed by the joint action of the sulphur and SO,. Owing to the 
high temperature and the splashing of the molten lava, neither 
glass nor porcelain would have withstood the ordeal, and a tube of 
silica glass was, unfortunately, not available; so that iron appeared 
to be the best material at hand through which to reach the interior 
of the dome and to insure the capture of the gases at the temperature 
of emergence from the lava (about 1,000°) before any opportunity 
for cooling or contact with air had been given. 

The effect of this small section of iron pipe on the relations between 
the gases collected in the tube is not as great as might at first appear. 
The action of SO, on iron at this high temperature is quite vigorous, 
the iron going over to ferrous oxide and setting free the sulphur. 
But both these ingredients are present in the lava already, as may 
be seen from the analyses (Table 1), so that no new component. is 
added, nor is any new reaction precipitated through the introduction 
of the iron. It might be assumed further that the free hydrogen 
present would be partly oxidized to water in reducing the ferrous 
oxide formed from the SO, and iron (this is one of the reactions 
when these components are brought together at this temperature in 
the laboratory), but if this reaction has had a share in the disposi- 
tion of our bit of exposed iron we must admit its presence in over- 
whelming magnitude over the entire inner surface of the dome, which 
is everywhere lined with liquid lava containing nearly 10 per cent 
of ferrous oxide. The assumption of this reaction would therefore 
have the immediate effect of establishing the presence of water in 
quantity among the volcano gases and at the same time relegate the 
influence of the iron tube to a position of entire insignificance. 

There is still further evidence, if more is needed, that the local 
reactions set up by the iron are of subordinate importance only in 
their effect on the proportions of the gases collected, and of no effect 
whatsoever on their identity and chemical relation. Supposing these 


44863°—sm 1913——19 


290 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913, 


reactions to have occurred as described, it is then a matter of straight- 
forward computation to show that if the known weight of iron which 
was dissolved away by the gases, both those which entered the pipe 
and those which merely played on its outside wall,t had reacted in 
this manner; and supposing further that all the products of the 
reaction, both outside and inside, entered the collecting tubes (which 
is obviously impossible), it would have involved pumping through 
the system some 225 liters of pure hydrogen as an equivalent for the 
iron consumed, and this still falls short of the quantity required to 
account for all the water collected by more than 40 per cent. More- 
over, if the attempt is to be made to account for all the water col- 
lected in our tubes through reactions requiring free hydrogen, it 
is altogether inconceivable that any such quantity of uncombined 
hydrogen is available in the emanation from the volcano. For if we 
were to assume that as much as 1,000 liters of volcanic gas (which 
is a very liberal estimate) passed into the collecting train in the 15 
minutes during which the pumping was continued, such a quantity 
of free hydrogen (375 liters) would be equivalent to 40 per cent of 
the total composition, a quantity sufficient to form an explosive mix- 
ture on contact with air of such extreme violence as to change the 
entire character of the volcanic activity at Halemaumau. It is a 
fact of general observation that the bubbles of gas which come up 
through the liquid lava, even when they reach the enormous size 
of 30 feet in diameter, give no explosion whatsoever. 

We may therefore fairly conclude, both from the character of the 
reactions in which the iron might have a part and from the quantity 
of water collected, that the presence of the iron tube has no consider- 
able significance in relation either to the character or to the amount 
of volatile material collected. 


THE REACTION BETWEEN H. AND SO, OR CO,. 


To this reaction assumed to be going on between H, and FeO may 
be added another and much more important one in which the iron 
has no part. The free hydrogen set free by the volcano reacts with 
sulphur dioxide at 1,000° to give water and free sulphur directly. 
Tt will also be recalled that carbon dioxide and hydrogen undergo 
similar reaction at this temperature. This is the familiar water- 
gas reaction 

HCO, = "CO--ELO 
which has been thoroughly studied by Haber? and others throughout 
the entire range of temperatures found to prevail at this volcano, and 
may be accepted without limitation as an important factor in the 
ferrous oxide and about 8 per cent of sulphur. 


2See, for example, F, Haber: “ Thermodynamik technischer Gasreactionen,” p. 158. 
Miinchen, 1905. 


WATER AND VOLCANIC ACTIVITY—DAY AND SHEPHERD. 29] 


activity which we are studying. It follows directly from this that 
the chemical analyses of volcano gases offered by Brun in support of 
his conclusion that the exhalations from Kilauea and other volcanoes 
are anhydrous, also carry on their face the clear proof that his con- 
clusion is untenable. Neither CO, nor SO, can be associated with 
free hydrogen at temperatures in the vicinity of 1,000° without the 
formation of water. The two analyses offered by Brun of the gases 
given off on reheating the Kilauea lava show them to be chiefly made 
up of precisely these ingredients (loc. cit., p. 115) : 


Brun’s analyses of gases obtained from Kilauea lava when heated in vacuo. 


af 2. 

Ke pee ee Se TraAcesye Cl) si Rey see SS OO EA 5. 58 
AS), al glo el ae a Lesh Gol 29) Cot pei ce Ml ch IRE d bein b 
OY Oe eel area. >, ee 50.8 | SOs ____ Bite Pear iatel oe Bes! i 4/2 47/7. 
CLG ean: Seeene ss SRR eee oe NT Bil) COR Se Sheree, Fis koe Sees ees, 69. 09 
15 Eee Se ES EES TR al ee a 285 WC Oy ee. 2 BE ea ee 11. 60 
J Ee Se aR i A SS ES eT a a 9 Kee? aK Oo (espe ey Sao LOE Si 

egestas ie, Wace ie gee ee 6. 10 

Peg RTH! tkasy aa ae Sy 0.3 


It is, furthermore, noticeable that the analyses here offered by Brun 
as representative of the gases emanating from Halemaumau do not in 
any way agree with the composition of the gas which we obtained 
from liquid lava. He finds, for example, in one analysis more than 
7 per cent of chlorine in one form or another where we find 0.02 per 
cent or less, He obtained about 5 per cent of SO,, whereas SO, dur- 
ing our visit was perhaps the most notable gas evolved from this 
crater. 


THE RELATIVE QUANTITIES OF THE CONSTITUENT GASES. 


Leaving now the question of the identity of the gases discharged by 
the lava at Halemaumau, we should perhaps turn for a moment to 
the consideration of their relative quantity, which, as already inti- 
mated, is not so well established by our samples because of the unex- 
pected presence and condensation of the water in the collecting tubes. 

In addition to the presence of the iron tube, and its possible effect 
on the total quantity of water and of free sulphur collected in our 
tubes, which has been discussed above, our analyses of the gases 
(p. 289) are subject to a second limitation which is at once obvious. 
When the pumping had been completed, the collecting tubes each con- 
tained a quantity of the condensed water, in which the fixed gases 
are individually soluble in varying degree both during and after 
cooling. There is also some reaction between the gases and water. 
The long period which elapsed between the date of collecting the 
gases and their analysis in Washington after the close of the field 
season—nearly a year—gave opportunity for these readjustments to 
proceed practically to completion, The SO,, for example, has gone 


292 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913, 


over in part or altogether to SO, and gone into solution, and only 
two of the five tubes analyzed now show SO, as such. Moreover, the 
resulting acid solution may have reacted to a limited extent on the 
glass tube, and accordingly be responsible for all or a part of the 
alkalies, lime, and alumina shown in analyses of the water (table 3). 


PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS OF ONE TUBE OF GAS IN HONOLULU. 


For this reason some importance attaches to a preliminary and very 
hasty analysis of the contents of one of the tubes (No. 3) made but 
four days after the collection, for which the College of Hawaii most 
courteously extended the facilities of its chemical laboratory at Hono- 
lulu. This preliminary analysis was undertaken solely as a precau- 
tion against the consequences of a possible total loss of the material 
collected through accidents of transportation. 

Owing to the limited facilities, it was not possible to make a com- 
plete analysis; but in tube No. 3 shaking with water reduced the total 
volume of gas by 51.6 per cent, which may fairly be assumed to repre- 
sent the SO, in this particular tube. As there was a quantity of the 
condensed volcano water in the tube already, this merely reveals the 
quantity of SO, in excess of the quantity already taken up by this 
water, The carbon dioxide of this tube amounted to 39.8 per cent. 
but was probably contaminated with some SO,. The CO amounted 
to 5.5 per cent. The hydrogen and nitrogen could not be determined, 
but there was not enough hydrogen in the residual gas to form an 
explosixe mixture when mixed 1:1 with air. The water in this tube 
gave a very slight turbidity with acid silver nitrate and a slight pre- 
cipitate of SO,. This latter represents the amount formed in the 
tube in the time which elapsed between the collection and analysis 
(four days). This tube gave no test for titanium. 

Hydrocarbons could not be detected in any of the tubes. 


THE MATERIAL PRESENT IN THE WATER. 


The water which was collected in the first tubes of the series may 
fairly be assumed to contain practically all of the halogens. The 
analysis of this water is given in Table 3. 


TABLE 3.—Analyses of material contained in the water collected in the tubes. 


Tube 1. Tube 2. Remarks. 
Grams. Grams. 
DOE OLED EL RE Sto ae re ae As 2a ee ae 0.0214 0. 031 
MPS. Fane dS  ARELE S ERS. LEE Se 2 - 0102 -011 |]The major portion of these 
CaO rsa stte eet, aes ko ne, Fao i eran reel. 0120 -14 may have come from the 
Fe.O; 080 010 glass or from Pele’s hair. 
AlsO3 Pee ee eee eee we ee ewe te eee eee eee ewe cones Ul . 
Me FET eS PSS da sae . 220 . 206 
epee. cours Se Eero. Sg fa es ae ee . 565 - 492 
WWiktyss. AGS VA. SA... a SE . 0018 0 
TST Waser ects: ak ea tciniore raw aie fc riot ee eee - 005 (2) oO | 
TotalisiasiSOguee ll: RSW. wee Se arses 480 508 | 


WATER AND VOLCANIC ACTIVITY—DAY AND SHEPHERD. 293 


It is not improbable that most of the alkalies, lime, and alumina 
have resulted from the action of the acid liquid on the glass tubing, 
but it is of the greatest importance to establish the fact that the en- 
tire quantity of gas pumped through the “wash bottle” yielded no 
more than 0.4 gram of chlorine. If this be calculated in the form of 
gas, 1t will correspond at most to 0.02 per cent, assuming that ap- 
proximately 1,000 liters of gas were drawn into the tubes. Fluorine 
seems to be present in about twice this quantity, but in no sense can 
these halogens be regarded as forming more than a very minor part 
of the crater exhalation. 


RARE GASES. 


In the progress of the analyses, after all the active gases had been 
removed from the several tubes analyzed, there remained an inactive 
residue which, of course, consisted mainly of nitrogen, but which 
might be supposed to contain traces of argon, helium, or other of the 
rare Inert gases, should any such chance to have been present in the 
volcano emanation. For the determination or detection of these sev- 
eral of the residues were brought together in a spark tube and ex- 
posed for several hours, in the presence of oxygen, to an alternating- 
current spark discharge of considerable intensity. When the volume 
of residual gas could no longer be diminished by this means, there 
remained a final residue of 75 cubic centimeters of gas, which was 
forwarded to Prof. R. W. Wood, of Johns Hopkins, who very kindly 
offered’ to make a spectroscopic examination of it for traces of the 
rare gases. The search yielded a decisive negative result. No lines 
characteristic of any of the rare gases could be found with the 
spectroscope, nor did exposure to charcoal at the temperature of 
liquid air leave any residue whatever. The gas examined was, there- 
fore, all nitrogen. Subsequently the residues (15 cubic centimeters) 
from another group of the tubes were treated in the same way and 
forwarded to Prof. Wood, who was again able to detect nothing but 
pure nitrogen. It appears to be definitely established, therefore, that 
the gases collected from Halemaumau in May contain nitrogen but 
no argon. This affords a most desirable confirmation of our belief 
that the volcano gases were successfully collected before they had 
come in contact with atmospheric air at all, and were therefore en- 
tirely uncontaminated either by reaction or admixture with it. It 
also offers support to the view that the volcanic nitrogen is not of 
atmospheric origin—to which further allusion will be made in the 
concluding paragraphs. 


1 We desire to take this opportunity to thank Prof. Wood for courteously offering to 
examine these gas residues. The Geophysical Laboratory at Washington possesses 
neither the equipment nor the special experience necessary to undertake a spectroscopic 
study of this critical character. 


294 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 
THE GASES COLLECTED IN DECEMBER, 1912. 


From the gases which were collected in vacuum tubes on December 
4, 1912, much less information is obtainable than from the May col- 
lection, in spite of the more elaborate preparations made for the 
second attempt. This was wholly due to the fact already mentioned, 
that the dome from which the December gases were collected proved 
on near approach to be an imperfect one, which permitted the en- 
trance of air and a partial combustion of the gases within the dome. 
Six individual vacuum tubes (two of one-half liter capacity and four 
of 250 cubic centimeters) were automatically filled and sealed off 
within this dome and were brought to Washington in safety, but 
were found on opening to contain mixtures of volcano gases and air, 
such as might be expected from exposure to the temperature at which 
they were collected (about 1,000°). There is, of course, no more rea- 
son for expecting the chemical reaction between the gases and air to 
have proceeded to an equilibrium than in the case of the reactions 
between the volcanic gases alone, whence the analyses of the gases 
contained in these tubes may be expected to show very variable 
proportions. 

In stating the analyses the free oxygen found has been subtracted, 
together with a corresponding portion of the nitrogen appropriate to 
the normal composition of air. Probably more of the nitrogen should 
have been subtracted as an equivalent for the oxygen taken up in the 
combustion of the sulphur products and carbon monoxide, but the 
amount would be difficult to fix in view of the reactions between the 
volcano gases themselves and it has not been attempted. The analyses 
at best add but little to the knowledge already obtained. 


TABLE 4.—Analyses of gases collected in December, 1912. 


[Percentages by weight.] 


Tube 2. | Tube3. | Tube5. 


COE Pe es eRe ee ens SE Seis cicteiale Cs sb SRL eeceh ees see ee es 49.6 33.7 45.4 
IN ig eee Re ecient cichene vee eclatsis io otis: a aim wis SiS Siacw mee ehotarn alates area 24.1 32.1 21.3 
Ree Rr eee ieee cote wis oda UV aceees ELM gees cB osmieags 26.2 26.6 29.7 
PO ree eee tee ane Seiae MeN Ee Ee ele ee sais meinia oe acne Womens Salt matiee 7.6 S20 
Cae ES yar at OP eames. IT nt card aad dias ee a eb eae wee Trace 0 .0 

mt) .0 


If we make the only available assumption, namely, that the oxygen 
which is now present as water, if it came from the air, must have left 
behind a corresponding amount of nitrogen, then the amount of 
nitrogen found in these three vacuum tubes is in every case two or 
three times too small. For example, in tube No. 2, if all the oxygen 
now contained in the water came from admixed air, there should 
have been at least 240 cubic centimeters of nitrogen in this tube 


WATER AND VOLCANIC ACTIVITY—DAY AND SHEPHERD. 295 


instead of 74 cubic centimeters, as actually found. There is but one 
conclusion, namely, that only the minor portion of the water found 
in the tubes was formed through reaction with atmospheric oxygen. 
Here again, therefore, we have corroborative evidence of water 
emanating directly from the liquid lava. 

None of these vacuum tubes gave a test for ammonia, which is not 
surprising, since the water collected in May showed only a trifling 
amount. With the possible exception of 5 milligrams of insoluble 
residue found in tube No. 1 of the May collection, ho titanium was 
present. The other tubes of the series yielded none on test. 


THE HOT EMANATIONS FROM CRACKS ABOUT THE HALEMAUMAU CRATER. 


It was thought desirable to collect and analyze the gases from a 
number of the hot cracks which occur outside the rim of the Hale- 
maumau pit (see pl. 1) for comparison with the gases exhaled from 
the liquid lava. One of the cracks forms an almost complete ring 
around the pit at a distance of about 150 meters from the rim. 
While this crack appears practically continuous, there are a number 
of points where the gaseous exhalations are much more voluminous 
than at others. The small steam cloud in plate 1 comes from this 
erack. The temperature of the gases obtained at points on this cir- 
cular crack and some 10 feet below the surface were quite uniformly 
between 190° and 200°. 

At the most noticeable of these “ hot spots,” locally known as the 
“ Devil’s Kitchen ” or “ Postcard Crack,” and situated northeast of 
the Halemaumau pit, the surface lava flows are much decomposed, 
and consist of a coarse, somewhat sandy mixture of calcium sulphate, 
alum, ferric sulphate, and much free sulphur. In the gaseous exhala- 
tion the amount of SO, occurring as such is relatively high, while 
CO,, SO,, and free sulphur are also present in large quantities. A 
vacuum tube filled at this point yielded in weight per cents: 


[Per cent by weight. ] 


EG) cae A Ta A RS a at ati ig eggs RG (6 2 | 
yee ee eeeM ess Dead tee 2 See ee es eS SE Sh 19. 54 
Ty oa ed NB DE a tee an Nn ca SP ig in AONE eNO em Ee al oft (0b 
TMs) oot ee eg tse RR i oe oe ee ee 2 ee OSE 
SO,7_ = pues aa ees SS ORS es Pah a ES eh AS trea BS tar 37 


Other tubes which were filled by pumping at this crack were found to 
contain fixed gases as follows: 


[Per cent by volume. ] 


ROC ee cr el Ae Ne a OE Shed de oo Stl, 3 Sk 5.8 
0 SERIES SUES Ye gear SRST soe i pe hc Se oe age a ae Sees SESE: TT 18. 2 


1 The total sulphur computed as SOx. 


296 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


while the water (about 20 cubic centimeters) yielded: 


Gram. 
Ye a se acs A aa 2 0, 05138 
| AS aa AG AE Lae IN ae i ES ee Ibe a . 0079 
Fo el eg ce eg el Mt ree Ht 2 ha eee eS eg ey ola 
WHe2 S60 toe Se Ee ee eee 0 


Another spot of great gaseous activity occurs in this circular crack 
near the terminus of the automobile road and southeast of the center 
of the active pit. The vacuum tube taken at this point yielded: 


[Per cent by weight. ] 


0, 0s ye ie Sel ea eee re A RE tN Ea 8.12 
OEP LE ST NN SEGA a Ue EE eb A oh SS 14. 58 
BON ee aie er ee wh a AS a oe a Se eae 51. 20 
1&0 nice AS SE RES OE Satan eee nee Be Dees Tyee RED Pee 25. 49 
Oar Npewprg: shee whale Ses ee Or ey 2 ie Es lowed ate ge . 59 
MO Babs iA Srey Ste ake AN eT Nh ee NI Fa see yay, LE undet 


The water contained in the tube which was filled by 15 minutes’ 
pumping at this point (amounting to about 15 cubic centimeters) 
yielded the following: 


Gram 
(CU oR a eet nee ee ee ee nee Ene Pom a OLS 0. 0298 
LINE oP ih tS Tia Pet NN A eg a eR eres ce emmy Deny ee Ls Ds 0 
ro as el ae Aiello eR pe a I ec EAL Les Te . 656 


Fifty meters to the northeast of this point, along the same crack, 
the gas obtained was merely moist air, with a trace of SO, and 
uncertain traces of Cl. 

About 100 meters south of the terminus of the automobile road is 
a moist region, where the decomposed lava rock was found to be more 
or less saturated with sulphuric acid, the decomposition products 
being black rather than the bright sulphur yellow prevailing at the 
points above described. A vacuum tube taken in this region, which 
is again on the circular crack surrounding the pit and nearly due 
south of it, yielded : 

[Per cent by weight. ] 


Ree Pen ee 18.18 
Me I i ae a 63. 85 
eee ee er oe ee 7. 81 
Ope ree tebe See ee a ee ee eee 5i 
Og 8 tad hee ol i et Oo be ee a 0 


The water condensed in a tube filled by pumping at this point 
yielded about 3 milligrams of chlorine, but no flourine. 

With regard to the chemical products along this circular crack 
about the crater basin of Halemaumau, we can sum up by saying that 
water, although no doubt partly of meteoric origin, was always pres- 
ent at the time of our visit, and the gases were prevailingly high in 


WATER AND VOLCANIC ACTIVITY—DAY AND SHEPHERD. 297 


carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide, and sulphur trioxide. Only at the 
automobile road terminus was chlorine found to be present in an 
amount sufficient to show appreciably in a field test. 

Cracks farther removed from the Halemaumau pit show in some 
cases small amounts of SO,, but more frequently exhale merely steam. 
Thus in caves where stalactites are forming at a temperature of about 
40°,! the gas present was in all cases examined merely air and steam 
and contained no more CO, than is normally contained in the air. 
The formation of the stalactites in this cave is accompanied by the 
formation of gelatinous silica in the presence of some kind of green 
alge. As might be expected, neither carbon monoxide nor hydrogen 
was detected in the gases taken from these cracks. 


SUBLIMATION AND DECOMPOSITION PRODUCTS. 


Numerous samples of decomposed lava were taken from various 
points around the crater where the alteration of the surface lava is 
conspicuous. While the examination of these is not complete, the 
preliminary results can be summed up by saying that the samples 
consist primarily of the products to be expected from a sulphuric 
acid decomposition of the usual basic lava. In most of the places 
where these samples were gathered the surface is constantly bathed 
by the volcanic cloud carrying SO,, SO,, and free sulphur, together 
with steam; which ingredient predominates is of no particular in- 
terest, so far as the general problem of surface alteration is concerned. 
In addition to the gaseous products, the breaking down of the lava 
results in ferric sulphate, which is formed more or less rapidly from 
the oxide in presence of steam. Alum occurs at favorable places over 
most of the main floor of the Kilauea Crater, but the amount is rela- 
tively small. Gypsum is perhaps the most common decomposition 
product which is left, and this occurs all over the crater. Projecting 
lava points on the under side of a lava block will often be found 
tipped with small crystals of gypsum. 

Since the gases collected point uniformly to the conclusion that the 
amount of chlorine given off by the crater at the time of our studies 
was relatively insignificant, it seemed worth while to look for it, as 
Brun had done, in the older lava which had been exposed to the 
fumes of the crater for several years. A specimen of lava was ac- 
cordingly taken on the lee side of the crater rim, where it had been 
fumed with the gases carried over it by the trade winds for 20 years 
or more. This lava in a 2-gram sample yielded no test for chlorine. 
This result is not as satisfactory as it might otherwise be from the 
fact that the major portion of the exhalation of the volcano is SO., 


1W. T. Brigham: ‘‘ The volcanoes of Kilauea and Mauna Loa on the Island of Hawaii,” 
p. 29. Honolulu, 1909. 


298 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


which, when combined with water, readily changes to sulphuric acid 
and would tend to drive the chlorine out of any combinations which 
it might form. It constitutes, nevertheless, a plain indication that 
the amount of chlorine actually evolved is insignificant. 


DISCUSSION OF RESULTS. 
GENERAL CONCLUSIONS, 


In so far, then, as this reconnaissance yields final results, it shows 
that the gases evolved from the hot lava at the Halemaumau Crater 
are N,, H,O, CO,, CO, SO,, free H, and free S, with Cl, F, and per- 
haps NH,, in comparatively insignificant quantity. No argon or 
other rare gases and no hydrocarbons were found. 


THE EFFECT OF THE REACTIONS BETWEEN THE GASES. 


The first plain conclusion which follows from the discovery of this 
particular group of gases associated together at a temperature of 
1,000° or more is that they can not possibly be in equilibrium there, 
and that chemical action between them is still going on. Whatever 
may have been the previous opportunities for chemical readjustment 
among the gases as they rose in solution with the magma and were 
gradually set free with the diminishing pressure, they are still in 
process of active reaction when discharged into the air. Free sul- 
phur, for example, could not have remained in permanently stable 
association with CO,; neither could free hydrogen be found in stable 
association with CO, and SO, at 1,000°. 


THE EFFECT OF THE EXPANSION OF THE GASES. 


Moreover, as the pressure continued to diminish during the progress 
of the upward movement, the quantity of gas released from solution, 
and therefore free to enter into new relations, must have been con- 
stantly and rapidly increasing up to the moment of discharge into 
the air. 

Two consequences follow from the continuation of this operation, 
which are thermally opposite in sense. First is the rapid expansion 
of the gases with the release of pressure, which is a cooling phenome- 
non, and which, if the expansion takes place suddenly from a high 
pressure into the air, might finally be extremely rapid. 


AN EXPLANATION OF THE FORMATION OF AA LAVA. 


Parenthetically, it may be noted in passing that such rapid expan- 
sion and consequent cooling when occurring suddenly at the surface 
may very well be the sufficient cause of the Aa lava formations. 
Great blocks appear to have cooled in this way so rapidly that no op- 
portunity was given for the suddenly projected and rapidly ex- 
panding lava outbursts to “ heal” and resume liquid flow. The pro- 


WATER AND VOLCANIC ACTIVITY—DAY AND SHEPHERD. 9399 


jected masses are cooled almost instantly throughout their mass and 
remain discrete blocks of the roughest and most ragged outline (pl. 
9), which are pushed forward thereafter in a manner which has been 
Hiatied to a “moving stone wall,” beneath which the advancing 
liquid can rarely be seen. This hypothesis of the manner of forma- 
tion of Aa lava has encountered no limitation from a field examina- 
tion of Aa flows at the point of outbreak, and enjoys still further 
confidence from the fact that this is almost the only conceivable 
method of bringing about a nearly instant cooling throughout the 
mass of a very large block of lava. (Aa blocks are sometimes re- 
ported to reach the size of a small house.) Any manner of cooling 
from the outside inward in such masses must have resulted in much 
mechanical deformation during the forward movement after the 
surface had “set,” causing rupture and outbursts of imprisoned 
liquid, none of which were found in the field. 

The rate of cooling of gases expanding adiabatically has been espe- 
cially emphasized 3 Daly,’ who has contended that when the liquid 
lava finds exit through a long and rather narrow pipe, like the vent 
at Halernaumau, the pressure must diminish rapidly as the lava rises, 
and the temperature must fall rapidly in accordance with the law of 
adiabatic expansion. In order to maintain such an exposed surface 
basin in the liquid state, it is then necessary to postulate a very high 
temperature for the lava far below the surface,’ but this has serious 
difficulties because of the chemical complications which would follow 
from it. 


CHEMICAL REACTION BETWEEN THE GASES. 


The second consequence of the gradual release of gases is the in- 
terreaction between the gases thus set free in constantly increasing 
quantity as the surface is approached. These reactions are accom- 
panied by evolution of heat, which obviously operates to raise the 
temperature of the surrounding lava so long as the reacting gases 
remain in contact with it. The heat generated by these gas reactions, 
in the region near the surface where the amount of gas is large, may 
well be much more than sufficient to counteract the cooling effect of 
the expansion within the rising lava column, which may thus become 
hotter and not cooler as it approaches the surface. 

Precise figures can hardly be given for the difference in magnitude 
between the two forces which have been assumed to oppose each other 


1For other explanations of the formation of the Aa lava see Green, loc. cit., p. 171; 
Hitchcock: ‘‘ Hawaii and its voleanoes,” p. 282. Dana: “ Characteristics of volcanoes,” 
p. 241. 

R. A. Daly: “ The nature of volcanic action.” Proc. Amer. Acad. Sci., vol. 47, 1911, 
p. 84, 

*Daly has calculated a temperature gradient of 2,000° per 37 meters of depth for the 
rate of cooling of the gas alone, but the calculation takes no account of the relatively 
enormous mass of adjacent lava which must be cooled by the gas. 


300 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


here, the adiabatic cooling on the one hand and the heat of reaction 
between the gases on the other, for we do not yet know what all the 
reactions are in such a complicated chemical system, nor do we pos- 
sess any knowledge of the height of the lava column through which 
the gases are free to react. In fact, if the tube which feeds the vol- 
cano from below be supposed to contain both ascending and descend- 
ing columns of liquid lava of widely variable temperature (Daly) 
in which the circulation is primarily controlled by the (relatively 
very large) differences of specific gravity, then it is indeed question- 
able whether the common equations for adiabatic expansion find ap- 
plication here at all. In any event, if we may assume such reactions 
to be going on between the gases as: 


H, + CO, = CO + H,O + 10,000 calories (Haber) 
or 


CO + 4 0, = CO, + 68,000 calories (Haber) 
or the reaction between gas and lava: 
38FeO + HO = Fe,O, + H, + 15,400 calories (Chamberlin) 


then the effect of adiabatic cooling is certainly of negligible magni- 
tude in comparison with these. This is reasoning far beyond the 
data now in hand, but it serves to show that there is no cooling 
effect of comparable magnitude with the heating effect of the reac- 
tions going on within the active lava. 

Tf the reactions quoted above afford a proper measure of the order 
of magnitude of the heat quantity thus released by chemical reaction 
within the tube and surface basin of the volcano, we have here hap- 
pened on an enormous store of volcanic energy which reaches its 
maximum temperature at the surface itself. It is by no means cer- 
tain at the moment that this discovery throws any new light on 
conditions far below the surface, except perhaps to relieve us of 
the necessity of postulating extreme temperatures for the Java 
chambers below, which on other grounds must be considered highly 
improbable.* 


1 Whether these gas reactions may serve as a source of heat through which to point 
the resemblance between volcanic phenomena and geyser action (Daly) must be assigned 
rather to the realm of geologic speculation. At all events, the superficial phenomena at 
Kilauea would seem to find a serviceable explanation without requiring any of the ejecta 
except the gases to be of deep-seated origin. Indeed, the outbreak in May, 1912, of a 
lava stream from the talus immediately adjacent to the lava lake and some 40 feet above 
its level (pl. 10) would seem to necessitate differences of pressure, and therefore 
separate lava chambers, but short distances below the surface, in much the same ther- 
modynamic relations as those supposed to exist between neighboring geysers of different 
height and character. Hot gases from a common source percolating through chambers, 
such as appear to honeycomb the Island of Hawaii, and reacting exothermally through- 
out their journey as actively as a Bunsen burner, would appear to offer sufficient amount 
and variety of power to accomplish all the visible activity now seen there. 


NRUINRUID[R]T JO ISOMUJIOU S19}0UT QNG NOGY 


“(SL6L ‘So ANN) YSLVYD VANVIIYM JO YOOT4 NIVIN SHL NO VAY 


‘piaydaus pure eg—¢16| ‘HWoday ueiuosyyiws 
"6 S31V1d 


WATER AND VOLCANIC ACTIVITY—DAY AND SHEPHERD. 301] 
VARIATIONS IN THE COMPOSITION OF THE GASES. 


Tn full accord with the positive conclusion that these particular gases 
can not exist togetherinstable equilibrium at the temperature at which 
they are found, but are in process of active reaction, the record of the 
analyses shows their composition to vary from one tube to another. 
Successive tubes collected from the volcano at the same time (Table 
2, p. 289) do not show the individual gases to be present in the same 
proportions, but rather in proportions which change with every 
bubble which bursts from the liquid basin. 


VARIATIONS OF LAVA TEMPERATURE RESULTING FROM THE GAS REACTIONS. 


Further confirmation of the same conclusion is found in the observa- 
tion, already noted elsewhere, that when the gases given off by the 
lava increase in quantity (pl. 11), the quantity of lava (lava level in 
the basin) remaining the same, its temperature increases, and, con- 
versely, when less gas is discharged through the lava this temperature 
diminishes again. During the period of our visit in 1912 this change 
in the temperature at the surface of the active lava in the basin 
amounted in maximum to 115° (June 13, 1912, 1,070°; July 6, 1912, 
1,185°), and is therefore much greater than could be explained in so 
large a basin by fortuitous conditions of measurement. This absence 
of equilibrium and consequent variability of composition is also in 
accord with the observation of Perret and others at Vesuvius, that 
the relative proportions of the gases vary greatly with the condition 


of the crater. 
EXPLOSIVE LAVAS (BRUN). 


From the same viewpoint the laboratory observations of Brun on 
“live” or “explosive ” lavas and, in contradistinction, “dead” lavas 
acquire new and rational significance. In all the experience of the 
Geophysical Laboratory with the thermal study of silicates, we have 
found no natural rocks or minerals which did not set free gases in 
considerable quantity when heated in the laboratory to a temper- 
ature high enough to melt their chief constituents. Chamberlin,' in 
his elaborate series of analyses of the gases contained in rocks, seems 
to have had the same experience. If these studies together represent 
sufficient breadth of experience to justify a sweeping conclusion, then 
there are no “dead” rocks, meaning thereby igneous rocks, which no 
longer release original volatile ingredients when heated to melting. 
On the other hand, if we admit the nearly or quite universal distribu- 
tion of gaseous ingredients in igneous rocks, but suppose these gases 
were in equilibrium with each other throughout the solidification 


1R. T. Chamberlin: The gases in rocks, Publications of the Carnegie Institution of 
Washington, No, 106, 


302 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


period, then reheating in the laboratory could discover no “ explo- 
sive” rocks. The distinction “dead” rocks and “live” or “ explo- 
sive” rocks loses all significance so long as it applies merely to rocks 
containing gases in virtual equilibrium with each other, which merely 
release the gas when heated. But immediately we understand that 
in lavas carrying gases in solution or mechanical imprisonment the 
gases shut up therein may react together, with release of heat, the 
moment they are free to do so, “explosive” lava has a definite mean- 
ing, and Brun’s experience (loc. cit., p. 55), that “ once the expansion 
has commenced nothing [for example, withdrawal of the source of 
heat] can stop it,” becomes a most illuminating one. Rapid expan- 
sion of the reacting gases, together with the weakening of the inclos- — 
ing walls through the accession of heat thussuppled from within may 
very well produce explosive phenomena, in the sense in which Brun 
used the term, either in nature or in the laboratory. It is otherwise 
somewhat difficult to see how simple adiabatic expansion of a gas in- 
closed in walls of obsidian, which are very viscous even at very high 
temperatures, can produce “explosions” in the manner postulated 
by Brun. 
WATER AND THE BASIC MINERALS. 


There is another conclusion which has been freely offered by those 
who hold to the view that H,O can not be present as such in the 
emanations from active volcanoes, of which a statement may be 
found in the quotation from Green in the opening paragraph of this 
paper. It states that “the basic minerals themselves give no indica- 
tions, in the main eruptions, of having been in contact with water, 
highly susceptible as they are to such an influence.” 

It appears reasonably certain that the italicized portion of this 
quotation (italics are ours) is dictated by the relation between basic 
rock, liquid water, and air at comparatively low temperatures, and 
to this extent it may very well be true. In the active volcano Kilauea, 
however, we are dealing with gaseous H,O at a temperature above 
1,000°; this is quite another matter. It is a part of our program to 
endeavor to supply the lack of proper data about the relation between 
the several gases found and the chief ingredients of the liquid lava, 
and in view of the absence of such data at the present moment the 
question raised can receive no very complete answer. It is, neverthe- 
less, a comparatively simple matter to bring the powdered lava and 
water together at 1,100° in the absence of oxygen. The result ap- 
pears to support our view, for after several hours of the most in- 
timate contact between the gaseous H,O and the lava no chemical 
change whatever could be detected either in the “basic minerals ~ 
or the water. In so far as a qualitative experiment of this kind may 


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WATER AND VOLCANIC ACTIVITY—DAY AND SHEPHERD. 303 


be regarded as conclusive, this lava is not appreciably affected by 
water at the temperatures which obtain in the lava lake up to the 
time when the water leaves the lava and is discharged into the air. 
Pending the acquisition of more detailed data, therefore, we may 
leave this question in abeyance, with reasonable confidence that it 
will be found to be in full accord with the fact otherwise established, 
that water is present and participates actively in the volcanic activity 


at Kilauea. 
ORIGIN OF THE WATER. 


If we now grant that water is present as an active ingredient of the 
- liquid lava, in view of the positive character of the evidence offered, 
then it becomes pertinent to inquire whether this water is of mag- 
matic or of meteoric origin. Obviously, to this question no such 
positive answer can be returned as that which was offered in support 
of the main thesis of this paper. It is conceivable (1) that water 
may have entered by infiltration of sea water from the surrounding 
ocean, or (2) through more or less deep-seated infiltration of water 
originally meteoric, or, finally, (8) that it may be considered strictly 
magmatic in character and an original constituent of the lava. 

The volcanoes of Hawaii are completely surrounded at no great 
distance by the sea, which rises on their flanks to a height of 15,000 
or 16,000 feet, according to charted soundings and the observations 
of Dutton.t. The crater of Kilauea is about 15 miles from the nearest 
approach of sea water, as recorded by the most modern surveys. The 
rock is for the most part porous in high degree. Above sea level rain 
falls almost daily on the island up to elevations of 7,000 or 8,000 feet. 
Most of this meteoric water is deposited on the windward side? of 
the mountains and the leeward portions are desert or nearly so. The 
Kilauea Crater is situated on the flank of Mauna Loa at an elevation 
of about 4,000 feet above the sea and is exactly on the ridge which 
separates the region of rainfall from the desert of Kau. It is some- 
what misleading to assume with Dana that the rainfall at the crater 
is comparable with the rainfall at Hilo, the nearest considerable 
town where meteorologic observations are made. Hilo is to wind- 
ward of the crater and at sea level. At the Volcano House, still 
some 3 miles to windward of Halemaumau, the rainfall tables lately 
published by the United States Geological Survey give the annual 
average for the years 1909-1911 as 78.7 inches at the Volcano House 
and 136.5 inches at Hilo. It is also true, though it can not yet be 


1C,. E. Dutton: Hawaiian voleanoes. Fourth annual report United States Geological 
Survey, 1882-83. 

2Tt will, of course, be recalled that the islands of the Hawaiian group are within the 
trade-wind belt, and that the direction of the wind is very nearly constant throughout 
most of the year, a, 


304 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913, 


supported by measured data, that the rainfall at Halemaumau is 
even smaller than that recorded at the Volcano House, for at an equal 
distance to leeward of Halemaumau the country is desert and prac- 
tically without rainfall. The present crater les in the midst of this 
transition zone from 78 inches to zero. Be that as it may, there is 
a more or less abundant rainfall at Kilauea, even though the aggre- 
gate amount is much smaller than has hitherto been supposed. 

There is a further fact of observation which may be cited in this 
connection. Wells have been bored on the sugar plantations at ele- 
vations up to 2,000 feet on Hawaii and on the other islands. In 
these borings water is invariably met with (so far as we were able 
to learn) at sea level only. The water is ordinarily fresh, but a 
heavy draft on it always has the effect of increasing its salt content, 
and some of the wells have been permanently ruined for irrigation 
purposes by this means. 

So far as the conditions surrounding this voleano are concerned, 
therefore, water in some form would seem to be very widely dis- 
tributed except on the high mountains, and as freely available as 
silica for active participation in any form of volcanic activity. In 
the present preliminary survey of the situation it therefore appears 
as if any attempt to assign the water found in the lava to one or other 
of these three conceivable sources, or, perhaps better, to justify any 
specific distribution of it among the three conceivable sources, must 
be based on assumptions of a somewhat arbitrary and hypothetical 
character. Nevertheless, there are some indications which inevitably 
give direction to the probabilities which an individual observer may 
fix on. First and most important, in our opinion, is the fact that 
the nitrogen found in the emanation is free from argon. It is plain 
that if atmospheric water is to reach a hot lava column at a tem- 
perature of 1,000° or higher it must do so as a gas, and therefore 
on the same terms as other atmospheric gases. Argon is invariably 
contained in the air in measurable quantity and forms no chemieal 
compounds. Whence it follows that if the gases of the atmosphere 
had reached the liquid lava in any manner whatsoever the argon 
would be released with the others, but no trace of argon was found. 

The second difficulty is to conceive a mechanism whereby atmos- 
pheric or surface water of whatever origin (for example, the sea) 
can make its way into a lava column or basin at a temperature of 
1,000° or more. The Daubrée experiment, whereby water vapor was 
found to make its way through 2 centimeters of sandstone against 
an excess pressure within, though often quoted in this connection, 
does not help us to a solution of it. The force which was active in 


—~ 


WATER AND VOLCANIC ACTIVITY——-DAY AND SHEPHERD. 305 


Daubrée’s experiment is the surface tension of water only,' and water 
will obviously have no surface tension above its critical temperature 
of 374° (except perhaps in so far as salts in solution may have the 
effect of raising this critical temperature slightly). This tempera- 
ture passed, water must make its way precisely like any other gas 
by diffusion through pores or by overcoming whatever chemical or 
mechanical conditions it may encounter. The prospect is not an 
encouraging one. The hydrostatic pressure at great depths of the 
sea would appear to be the only sufficiently powerful agent to drive 
water against a high adverse temperature gradient, but to invoke 
this would be to invite nice distinctions of where “ magmatic” water 
begins and “meteoric” water ends. The presence or absence of 
chlorine is not a conclusive factor one way or the other, because the 
physical processes of infiltration through porous rock and of distil- 
lation are alike of such a kind as gradually to leave the dissolved 
salts behind; this is illustrated by the fact that the bore holes yield 
fresh water except when the infiltration is very rapid. 

To us, therefore, such evidence as there is appears to indicate that 
the water released from the liquid lava when it reaches the surface 
is entitled to be considered an original component of the lava with 
as much right as the sulphur or the carbon. 


1“ Capillary forces are effective only when there is a surface of separation within the 
pores. * * * Since the pressure discontinuity occurs only at the surface of separa- 
tion, a column of liquid can be supported only when there is a free liquid surface within 
thevcapillary. * | * * 

“* « * As regards the influence of temperature on the surface tension of water, all 
the investigations unite in showing that its surface tension decreases regularly with rise 
of temperature, becoming zero, of course, at the critical temperature where there is no 
surface of separation. The relation is practically linear when the whole range is con- 
sidered ; it may be represented with sufficient accuracy by the formula, 


¢ t==78 — 0.21 ¢ or 0.21 (370—7) 


where ¢¢ is the surface tension at ¢° (temperature centigrade) expressed in dynes per 
centimeter. 

“*« * * From this * * +* it is evident that the pressure producible by capil- 
larity is insignificant in comparison with the hydrostatic pressure, except for very fine 
pores * * * and this minuteness of the pores leads us to inquire what amount of 
water could actually flow through them. * * * Assuming the mean viscosity of the 
water to be 0.005 (its value at a temperature of 30°), the amount of water flowing 
through a pore of diameter 1 y# ji. e., 1/25,000 inch) would be about 15 x 10-6 ce, per 
year. * * * Now, if we make the very generous estimate that 10 per cent of the 
volume occupied by the rock consists of pore spaces * * * the quantity of water 
flowing would be only 15 cc. per sq. cm. of surface per year. * * * Jf the diameter 
of the pores is 0.01 » the amount of water flowing would be 0.0015 cc. per sq. cm. of 
surface per year. * * * In other words, a period of 1,000 years would be required 
for a quantity of water equivalent to 1.5 cms. (about one-half inch) of rain to flow past a 
given horizontal plane. 

“* * * It appears, therefore, as if the probabilities were all against the notion 
that appreciable amounts of meteoric water can ever penetrate into deep-seated and 
highly heated rock masses.” (John Johnston and L. H. Adams: “ Observations on the 
Daubrée experiment and capillarity in relation to certain geologic speculations.” Journal 
of Geology, vol. 22, in press, 1913.) 


44863°—sm 1918——20 


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ei: RSP ERT e i ee ver ae PSAs opie th $s Ale et eon Mea rite oe 


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f a damaete ate rser 4 pratense: weet hed ‘genie EAL ae pag 
ee ry die a ey uae Ain” eoton, ott To wep aingt it Med 
NEY: Ts sient? cere oni iatrites) eS «pats Tee ae 
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isi nee sl 8 © Stas. : Oey eae te Gate wt ea 
oh eet ella) ok; Phen paket. tet soy nu aoweee eX 
iy yt Wess Aig, ROTOR, GORE, Sey 
ee * taste Ligh secbhe wttice, iol ot hy See 


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a apes <Te sich Sash va dint Sh) 7 
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ae * quran re tel uy WOL SRE od 0Rahei eer 


RTI Chasen 28) POY ‘sp; See 


babe eet y, 
os bees “ 


RIPPLE MARKS. 


By CH. Epry. 


[With 10 plates. ] 


Among the multitudinous impressions which the ebbing tide leaves 
on the sands as it recedes the most curious are certainly those parallel 
lines of ridges, of varying size or regularity, covering at times im- 
mense areas of the beach. They are known in French as Paumelles, 
which has no significance, and in English as ripple marks, which 
name has prevailed, perhaps because it is foreign, or perhaps because 
it is more expressive (fig. 1).? 

Ripple marks are everywhere so common that it is impossible to 
walk on any beach for a few minutes without encountering them and 
admiring them, as they always present a very beautiful appearance, 
especially when seen in large masses in the sunlight, although one 
may suffer from them, perhaps, if one is barefooted, as they make 
walking very difficult. However, although they are universally 
known, no one seems until now to have definitely ascertained their 
cause. 

Some regard these undulations as due to the waves alone; others 
consider that they are caused by the wind, by the transference of 
the surface vibrations to the bottom, when these have only a little 
depth of water to traverse in order to reach the latter. Learned 
theories have also been formulated to explain them, none of which 
give entire satisfaction. 

The question still remained, therefore, “ What causes the formation 
of these ripple marks?” Wishing to answer it, I have taken the 
opportunity, during a number of years, to observe attentively these | 
undulations wherever my tastes and fancy have taken me; that is 
to say, from one end of our coast to the other, and the cause of the 
phenomenon appears to me to-day so easy of comprehension that 
I find it difficult to explain to myself why an agreement regarding 
it was not reached long since. It is the very definite conclusion at 


1 Translated by permission from the Annales de l’Institut Oceanographique (Fondation 
Albert 1°™ Prince de Monaco), Paris, vol. 4, pt. 3, 1912. 
* The figures are shown on plates 1 to 10. 


307 


308 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


which I have arrived that I present here. Although it is simply that 
of an amateur who can only bring to his researches a measure of 
curiosity and much patience, I believe that it will impress itself on 
others with the same force that it has on me, if they will consent to 
accompany me, stage by stage, along the road which has led me to 
it. In order to simplify the explanation and clarify the text, I shall 
present in connection with each argument the most convincing of a 
number of photographs which I have taken on different beaches. 

In the first place, then, where are these ripple marks formed? 
Broadly speaking, ridges of this kind are produced beyond the 
reach of the waves on the dry sands of the interior of dunes (fig. 2) 
and likewise on the sandy slopes of Sahara, or the snow carpet of 
Alpine heights. Due without question to eolian action, these do not 
interest us, at least for the present, though we shall Lave occasion 
to return to them later. 

In the area in which the ebb and flow of the tides manifest them- 
selves it is necessary to distinguish between an upper and a lower 
beach. The first presents a particularly steep slope, and the water 
only reaches it during the neap tides. But then the water possesses 
a much greater. force, because it must, during the same number of 
hours, traverse a longer course. For these two reasons the layers of 
water which are spread out, however thin they may be, are carried 
about with such velocity that no other force can counteract their ef- 
fects. But their actionis vertical. The grains of sand are energetically 
propelled from below upward and from above downward, but solely 
in a vertical direction. Consequently, children’s modelings, foot- 
prints, or ridges raised perhaps by the wind during the time when 
the sand is drying, all inequalities indeed, whether depressions or 
elevations, are erased or thrown down, as the smoothed-out slope 
takes on the regular surface of a glacis (fig. 3). Figure 3 shows 
the sea at work; figure 4 enables one to judge of the final result. 

On the upper beach ripple marks are never found. They occur, 
in contrast, in great abundance on the lower beach, as shown 
in figure 1—in great abundance, but not always, nor everywhere. 
Figure 5 is a view taken in the Bay of Goulven on the same day and 
at the same hour as figure 1, and scarcely a hundred meters to the 
right of the place where the latter was taken and toward nearly the 
same point of the horizon. The two photographs placed side by 
side constitute a panoramic view of the same landscape. The ridges, 
which are so beautifully shown at the left, are irregular and scarcely 
outlined at the right, presenting merely a wavy appearance. 

Let us go elsewhere. Here is a beach in the region of Lorient, 
that of Fort Bloqué, quite ideally flat, and apparently well suited for 
the formation of ripple marks. (See fig. 6.) A fisher woman is 
walking toward the rocks, which begin to appear above the water, 


PLATE 1. 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Epry. 


Fic. 1.—ON THE BAY OF GOULVEN (FINISTERE). 


Fic. 2.—IN THE DUNES OF PARIS-PLAGE. 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Epry. PLATE 2. 


Fig. 3.—THE EBB AT CAPE FERRET, ON THE BAY OF ARACHON. 


Fic. 4.—THE SEA LEAVING THE UPPER BEACH AT ETABLES (COTES-DU-NORD). 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Epry. PLATE 3. 


Fic. 5.—ON THE BAY OF GOULVEN, THE “‘ROC’H VRAN.”” 


Fic. 6.—APPEARANCE OF THE LOWER BEACH AT FORT-BLOQUE WHEN THE WATER 
IS RECEDING. 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Epry. PLATE 4. 


Fia. 7.—RIPPLE MARKS BELOW LESCONIL. 


Fia. 8.—STRIP OF BEACH BETWEEN POULDU AND DOUELAN. 


‘ 


RIPPLE MARKS—EPRY. 309 


to collect periwinkles. The water, consequently, is receding. One, 
however, perceives no trace of its having covered the sands. Their 
remarkably smooth, wet surface has the polish and the gleam of a 
mirror. 

In contrast, in many places, especially near the time of the very 
low water of the spring tides—for example, on the bars that form 
at the mouth and along the banks of certain rivers—ripple marks are 
found, which, unlike those shown in figure 1, are not a few centi- 
meters high, but 50 to 75 centimeters, or even a meter. Such ripple 
marks are shown in figure 7, from a photograph taken at the mouth 
of the Steir,t or lagoon of Lesconil. 

.As the ripple marks, then, do not form on the upper part of the 
beach, but are extremely common on the lower part (which corre- 
sponds in sandy regions to the zone of fucus and laminarian sea- 
weeds of rocky shores) does it not seem that it ought to suffice, in 
order to discover their origin, to note the points in which the latter 
differs from the former? This reasoning is correct, and it is pos- 
sible to draw important conclusions from this comparison. From 
this point of view, however, it is of importance to proceed in one’s 
deductions with a prudent circumspection, without taking one’s eyes 
from the facts; otherwise, one is in much danger in a moment of 
inattention of arriving at an explanation of the phenomenon, which, 
when pursued a little further, will very quickly surprise one by be- 
coming in complete discord with all the new data acquired by 
observation. 

What, then, is the principal difference between the two parts of 
the beach, from the particular point of view which we are taking? 
The slope of the lower beach is much more gentle, so gentle at times 
‘that the waves in certain regions recede for a distance of several kilo- 
meters in attaining the level of low water. Consequently, the velocity 
of the current of the tide is there very great. In the Bay of Mont- 
St. Michel it is equal to that of a horse galloping. On the other hand. 
throughout the duration of the flowing tide, the progressing stratum 
of water which moves up the sands is very thin, so thin, indeed, that 
the waves can not perpetuate themselves and die out at a considerable 
distance from the shore. These beaches are, while they last, like 
immense shallow lakes which gradually empty themselves. What is 
one to conclude from such a state of things? Given the slight thick- 
ness of the layer of water, it seems quite natural to believe that the 
action of the wind should make itself felt at the bottom, forming 
there ridges analogous to those which it raises on the surface of the 
sea. One may equally be led to inquire whether it is not necessary 


+The Steir is a little Breton river, which empties into the Odet at Quimper. But in 
that region they designate thus most of the small creeks without name that toward the 
ocean spread out into fjords, estuaries, or lagoons. 


310 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. — 


to attribute the formation of ripple marks to the violence of the 
current of the tide that sweeps this very flat area, or to the indirect 
action of the wind, or in some measure to the combined action of the 
two elements, the air and the water. 

The second hypothesis has been very generally adopted. At first 
sight, we repeat, it appears very convincing. In reality, it does not 
bear serious examination, and should be resolutely rejected. What- 
ever the state of the atmosphere, indeed, one will observe that on a 
beach there are certain points where at all times, or at least with very 
great regularity, ridges are formed. At other points on one day 
they will disappear, though the wind may blow a gale, while on the 
morrow they reappear, though the sky may be calm and the sea like 
glass. 

Not only is there no correlation between the movements of the 
aerial ocean and the wrinkling of the sandy surfaces submerged 
under a very thin stratum of water, but, on looking closely, one 
observes that it is particularly in those places where the bottom is 
especially protected from the influence of the wind that these marks 
attain their largest dimensions; for example, where the ground is 
accidentally sunken, in the depths of pools, or on the banks of small 
streams, or at low-water mark; again, where the force of the current 
of the tide, as well as that of the wind, whatever it may be, remains 
comparatively negligible, and is actually without effect, for example, 
on the sands of bars, which are exposed only a few minutes, and then 
only at the equinox, at the mouth of rivers and streams. 

One should not have a shadow of a doubt on this point. Ripple 
marks are the work of the tide, and of that alone, as they are nowhere 
so numerous and conspicuous as where the sands are best protected 
from the effects of the wind. 

This first point settled, it remains to harmonize this assertion with 
what we have said of the effects of the tide on the higher part of 
the beach, where far from producing a greater wrinkling of the 
bottom, the increase of its speed, owing to the great inclination of 
the beach, causes a general leveling. 

In order to explain this apparent contradiction, and find the 
solution of the enigma, which of the two factors is it necessary to 
consider, the inequalities of the two slopes, or the difference between 
the dynamic effects of a breaking wave and those of a regular cur- 
rent? It is, in fact, neither the one nor the other. They are of no 
importance. All research in this direction leads to nothing. Here 
again is an impasse to be avoided. The solution of the problem is 
to be sought elsewhere. In order to discover it without further 
delay, we must transfer ourselves to a point on the shore where the 
ripple marks always, or nearly always, form; that is, to the line of 


e RIPPLE MARKS—EPRY. 311 


junction of the upper and the lower beach. This line of demarkation, 
sometimes scarcely visible, is remarkably clear in the accompanying 
illustration (fig. 8). 

Examine this photograph closely and what do we see? A higher 
beach which is perfectly smooth, a lower beach, almost horizontal, 
equally leveled off by the sea that has withdrawn from it. Between 
the two, at the base of the upper slope, are two small pools quite 
distinctly united, of which the bottom in course of becoming dry is 
covered with ripple marks. Why are these ridges formed there and 
not higher up or farther out? 

Let us pursue our examination, concentrating our attention on the 
nearer depression the details of which are the more distinct. In the 
widest part of this pool the ridges are arranged parallel with the 
shore, but at its extremities, situated in the nearest foreground, it is 
seen that these lines of ridges are directed toward the sea, diminish- 
ing in number, losing their regularity, and finally mingling together 
and being drawn out into a little streamlet which gradually disap- 
pears. If we could study the other pool as readily, we should dis- 
cover an absolutely similar disposition of the ripple marks at the 
bottom of it. It also terminates in a rill. The two together seen 
from farther off and higher up from the top of the cliffs (fig. 9) 
present with perfect symmetry the appearance of a pair of French 
mustaches with long ends drawn down equally. 

What has gone on here? It should not be imagined that hiero- 
glyphics are more easy to decipher than these marks traced on the 
sand. Wherever the strand was so fiat that the water could flow 
normally from the cliffs and toward the sea, the sandy grains, what- 
ever might be the manner in which they were propelled, strike briskly 
against the waves, or the natural impulse of the tide. Whatever the 
inclination of the area on which they roll (in other words, whether 
on the lower beach as on the higher beach, as one can verify from the 
foregoing photograph), they are deposited in a uniform layer. They 
can not follow the same course in a double depression. Those which 
at first, when the sea strikes the plain far from the foot of the cliffs, 
had not the least importance end by acquiring one a little before the 
receding tide completely abandons them. At this:moment the layers 
of water which sweep the depression from side to side, rise swiftly 
to a certain height on the slope of the upper beach, but in returning 
all the water can not again avoid the constantly growing obstacle 
which extends across its route on the progressively exposed plane 
of the lower beach. At the surface a part of this water still passes, 
but the greater portion, diverted by the knob of sand toward the 
middle of the pool, accumulates there seeking its level of equilibrium, 
and in order to find it flows out in a wavy course te the right and 


312 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


left toward the two extremities, where, with the aid of the last waves, 
it divides into a double stream creating, in consequence, two small 
currents running in opposite directions parallel to the shore. 

One learns from this the manner in which is formed, at this point, 
the deposit of sand grains carried by these currents running at 
right angles with the current of the tide, which brings them from 
the upper beach. Meeting in the pool water that possesses little 
force they lose their speed and are deposited. But, while they are 
falling to the bottom, the transverse current intervenes, turns them 
aside and arranges parallel with the shore this unstable, changeable 
‘mass, which is in course of formation rather than formed, and con- 
sists of these sandy particles, for the most part still suspended in 
the water. 

Thus appear the parallel lines of ripple marks which reveal by 
their direction that of the secondary currents, and by their undula- 
tions the serpentine windings which are impressed on them by the 
vertical oscillations of the waves. Though very distinct where the 
divergence of the two lines of currents from an angle of 90°, 
the ripple marks lose little by little their regularity at a distance, 
and in the same measure as the forces in operation become weakened. 
They end by disappearing altogether in the drain where the trans- 
verse current, definitely deflected toward the sea, loses itself in the 
current of the tide. 

Thus is this phenomenon very simply explained. In every part 
of the lower beach where a current runs more or less nearly at right 
angles with the normal current of the ebb, their combined effects 
inscribe themselves in ripple marks on the sand. 

We arrived at this conclusion on noting the appearance which 
the ripple marks present when they have acquired their definite 
form. More convincing than any argument is the reproduction here 
given of a photograph showing these currents, surprised while at 
work and depicted in the immobility of a hundredth of a second at 
the moment when, under their double action, little lines of shadow 
stamp upon the smooth surface of the sands the first outline of 
ripple marks. I sought for a long time to obtain this illustration, 
and though a difficult task, it was finally secured. 

Let us suppose that at the moment of breaking on the shore, a 
wave happens to strike a rock presenting a surface at an angle of 
about 45°. The wave, carried along by its own energy, washes 
this surface, and then falling down and turned aside by it, retreats 
to join the sea, in an elliptical course (fig. 10). 

The sandy particles which it carries, as in the pool previously 
mentioned, are urged forward in two directions, “OA” and “ OB,” 
the, one perpendicular to and the other parallel with the shore. 
Ripple marks should be formed there. This is confirmed by the 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Epry. PLATE 5. 


Fic. 9.—THE PRECEDING STRIP OF BEACH SEEN FROM A GREATER DISTANCE. 


Fic. 10.—CuRVE OF WAVE AFTER STRIKING ROCK. 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Epry. PLATE 6. 


Fic. 11.—FiRST ROUGH OUTLINE OF RIPPLE MARKS. 


A ee 
te © 
* =. ?» 


a owt 
TF st 


Fic. 12.—ON THE BAY OF SOMME. 


RIPPLE MARKS—EPRY. S13 


accompanying instantaneous photograph (fig. 11). A wave has 
broken under precisely these conditions. One can discern still the 
contour of the fringe of foam that it spreads out on the beach. 
Being violently thrown from left to right, it has already abandoned 
the left portion. The obliquity of its course is revealed, in part, 
at least, by the direction of the line of shadow, which, at the right, 
marks the elevation which it forms on mingling with the succeeding 
wave, which latter at this point has not itself undergone any devia- 
tion. Where the receding wave has passed are displayed the #ea- 
tures of ripple marks. 

In general, as we have established in the bottom of our little 
pool at Pouldu, ripple marks arrange themselves parallel with the 
line of the shore, under the predominating influence of the trans- 
verse current, which draws the sands toward the outlet. On the 
contrary, the direction of the ephemeral marks outlined here (fig. 11) 
approach much more closely to a perpendicular than to a parallel 
with this line. The reason of this difference is very simple. It 
les in the fact that this instantaneous photograph was taken on 
the upper beach. There only the action of the normal reflex cur- 
rent which levels the sand ordinarily exerts itself. It is owing to 
a quite special circumstance that accidentally the effects of the de- 
scending current were altered for a few seconds to a slight degree. 
The direction of the ridges formed express the relation between the 
two forces which acted together at this place. 

But let us not make a point of this photographie document which 
was obtained with difficulty, and may doubtless appear insufficiently 
clear and convincing, moreover, as the jurists say, “ Testis wnus testis 
nullus,” and as we have not been able to obtain any other evidence of 
this kind, we shall content ourselves with arguments derived from 
ripple marks which, like those of Pouldu, have acquired their definite 
form. In whatever place one observes them there are such numerous 
and harmonious evidences in favor of our theory that they appear to 
us irrefutable, 

We now present an illustration of three conditions of the sand in 
the Bay of Somme (fig. 12). The waters first descended vertically 
down the slope of the upper beach directly toward the spectator, then 
at a certain moment they ran obliquely to reach the rivulet at the 
right, between the piles of the wharf, that should direct them toward 
the sea. The first slope, where ordinarily the action of the receding 
water alone exerts itself, is leveled. The less-inclined slope of the 
intermediate area, on the contrary, is covered with ridges due to a 
double action, the preponderating one of the transverse current and 
the diminished action of the normal current. 

Again, in figure 13, we have, seen from above, that marvelous whirl- 
pool of Trieux, dominated by the chateau of Roche-Jagu and its 


314 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


park. Owing to an effect of shadow one can distinguish in this view 
all the details of the relief of the ground. They are significant. At 
the same time that the descending tide washes the elongated sand 
bank at the middle of the river from above downward water runs lat- 
erally to join it from the channel at the right and from a rivulet fur- 
rowed in the mud at the margin of the shore at the left. Ripple 
marks are formed at this place. 

Let us now return to the great beach of Goulven, represented at 
thefBeginning of this article (fig. 1). If one introduces this view be- 
tween the following (fig. 14) and that which we have given in figure 
5, the accompanying panoramic view (fig. 15) will be obtained. We 
see at the right the shore and the most distant point of the bay dom- 
inated by a picturesque rocky mass called “'The Cathedral”; at the 
left, stretched across the bay, a series of high granite ledges which 
extend above the water. The waters have receded and leveled the 
slope of the sands accumulated around these knobs. But directed in 
consequence toward the middle of the bay they have been obliged, in 
order to get out, to seek two lateral outlets. They have taken the 
direction of “F'” and “ F’.” Do we not have here again, on an im- 
mense scale, our pool of Pouldu, with its two lateral outlets and its 
ridges parallel with one another and with the shore? 

The similarity of the two illustrations will be better comprehended 
by turning again to figure 1 and examining very closely (with a mag- 
nifying glass, one might say) the smallest details of the landscape. 
The lines of ripple marks are drawn out over a long distance, but in 
reality they show at a number of points a lack of continuity. They 
appear to be composed of bars which follow one another irregularly, 
or do not stand in line at all. To summarize, this immense field of 
undulations may be divided into an infinity of pools similar to that 
of Pouldu and of banks much less important even than that of Trieux. 
They form a mosaic. This admirable design is effected by means of 
fragments and pieces, pools and banks of sand in juxtaposition, and 
separated by a series of parallel rivulets, some still full of water and 
others already completely dry, just as shown in the first illustration, 
where one may see at the right ridges becoming progressively de- 
formed and losing themselves at the place where the two generating 
currents have taken a common direction. 

The same spectacle presents itself within the bay as at its mouth. 
Everywhere, from whatever point we take up the question, we always 
arrive at the same conclusion. All these marks (with certain excep- 
tions due to the movements of the ground, which, if we stop to study 
them, witness in favor of our theory) in their entirety are directed 
parallel to the shore toward a rapid creek formed on the right side 
of the bay by the retreat of the water which the sea every day carries 


a 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Epry. PLATE 7. 


ae 


Fic. 13.—AN ELBOW OF THE TRIEUX. 


Fia. 14.—ACROSS THE BAY OF GOULVEN. 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Epry. PLATE 8. 


Fig. 15.—THE BAY OF GOULVEN. 


Plounéour-Irez. z 


Fia@. 16.—THE BAY OF GOULVEN. 


RIPPLE MARKS—EPRY. 315 


to a marsh (fig. 16) that occupies, between Plounéour-Trez and 
Goulven, the head of the bay. If our theory be correct, one ought 
from the existence and direction of these ridges to conclude that the 
waters of the bay do not retire in a direction perpendicular to the 
beach, but are diverted more or less obliquely to it and toward this 
outlet. This is what I have always noted. One day especially, when 
hidden in the thicket on a sandy bar of the swamp in pursuit of 
herons, I killed one of these birds. The tide was high and conse- 
quently close at hand, and the bird fell into the water. As I had 
just eaten, it was impossible to swim out in order to recover it, and 
T was obliged to abandon it. The tide being high, it floated past me 
in a tantalizing manner. It was my first heron! When the tide 
had receded a little, however, the bird floated away quickly and 
obliquely toward the right in the direction of the creek, the outlet of 
all the waters of the bay. When it had arrived there it passed quickly 
outward and in a few minutes was lost to sight. At the same time 
the existence of a transverse current combining its effects with those 
of the ebb was revealed to me, the formation of ripple marks was 
demonstrated, and their direction explained by the course which the 
bird had followed. I had lost the specimen, but not my time. 

One can understand also that ripple marks are always found cn 
the bar of a river, like that of the Belon, for example, which is bare 
during the spring tides. The mass of water which flows down from 
the ravine, striking against an obstacle in its path, is forced to turn 
laterally to seek toward the shore an easier passage ; on the left, the side 
of the small bay of Kerfany, the real channel of the Belon; at the 
right, a small depression resulting from the washing out of the sands 
by the eddy in front of the rocks of the point of Riec. 

We may now return to the furrows in the dry sand of the dunes, 
or in the snow on the mountains. It will be observed that whatever 
the agency, air or water, the process is always the same. The ripple 
marks are never formed on the surfaces exposed to the full current. 
but always in the gullies, or on the side of slopes over which the cur- 
rent of air descends obliquely. Their direction indicates the course 
of the current (fig. 17). 

On the contrary, where no transverse current intervenes ripple 
marks are lacking in the places in which one might have expected to 
find them. Our angle of the beach at Fort Bloqué (fig. 6) is without 
them, because the peninsula which serves as an embankment to the 
fort prevents the access of all currents parallel with the shore, that 
of Coureau passing between the Lorient section of the mainland on 
the east, and the island of Groix. The ebb is produced there nor- 
mally. The ripple marks appear solely at a point lower down and 
farther from the shore, outside the protected zone. Can it be said 


316 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


that they never form in the angle? Not at all. I have seen them 
sometimes, but when a strong wind from the west forces the water to 
the right, parallel with the shore into the depressions of the embank- 
ment. 

I could multiply the examples indefinitely, accumulating the evi- 
dences, but this article would then be nothing more than an album of 
photographs. I shall not dwell on the evidence further, considering 
sufficiently demonstrated a fact that anyone, if I have failed to 
remove his doubt, can easily confirm on any beach. In concluding, 
I desire to return to two secondary points, but not unimportant ones, 
which, after mentioning incidentally, I put aside temporarily in order 
to first settle the principal questions. The secondary questions relate 
not to the mode of formation of ripple marks but to their location 
and the differences that are observed in their dimensions in the vari- 
ous places in which they appear. 

Ripple marks, as I have observed, form only on the lower beach, 
and there again not in all places nor at all times. I will explain 
why none are seen in the photograph taken on the beach at Fort 
Bloqué. To account for their absence in this part of the bay of 
Goulven, shown in figure 5, which includes all portions of the ripple- 
mark field, it is necessary to take notice of a factor that has not as 
yet been mentioned. This is the nature of the bottom. Here we 
encounter a layer of mud and not of sand. It is not necessary to 
seek for any other reason why the ripple marks are absent. They 
do not form on muddy bottoms. Such bottoms, which are very 
compact because composed of very fine particles, oppose to the attack 
of the tide a resistance all the more effective as their surface is 
viscous and gummy. The sea strikes them without finding more to 
take hold upon than the wind finds on a surface of water protected 
by a film of oil. A current may, however, if it be very violent, 
leave some trace of its passage, but indistinct and of little im- 
portance. In place of ripple marks one observes that kind of choppy 
appearance, like the coagulations in a semiclear soup, which one sees 
in figure 5. It is of interest to compare the effects produced by the 
same current under exactly the same conditions in two places near 
Lesconil, distant scarcely 100 meters from one another, in the one 
case on mud (fig. 18) and in the second on sand (fig. 7). 

Between the mainland and the island of Oléron the rapid cur- 
rent of Maumusson produces on the coarse sands from the point of 
Menson to the St. Trojan landing, ripple marks of enormous size 
in the furrows of which on the days of the spring tide one spears 
sole, turbot, plaice, torpedoes, and gurnards. But beyond this land- 
ing there extends an immense field of mud divided into separate 
masses in front of St. Trojan, unfrequented and inaccessible from 


PLATE 9. 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Epry. 


Fic. 17.—SAND DUNES IN THE DESERT OF SOUTH TUNIS. 


) 


(Photographed by Lehnert and Landrock, Tunis. 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Epry. PLATE 10. 


¥ 


—_— 
ot re ey Liven 
an eT an 


Fic. 18.—Mup BoTTOM IN THE STIER OF LESCONIL (FINISTERE). 


Fic. 19.—DESERT OF Mup AT Low TIDE BETWEEN THE MAINLAND AND THE ISLAND 
OF OLERON. 


RIPPLE MARKS—EPRY. 317 


the harbor of this locality and stretching all along the island as far 
as Ors, Le Chateau, and beyond. The layer of mud, constantly 
accumulating by the accession of fragments of shell derived from 
the oyster beds, attains a thickness of from 60 centimeters to 1 
meter and more. In figure 19 is shown lying exposed to the sun at 
low tide the surface of this desert of mud and the marks which indi- 
cate the currents flowing from the Straits of Maumusson and 
Antioche. It is impossible to recognize a trace of ripple marks there, 
although the place is scarcely 200 meters from the point of Menson 
and its ripple marks, and is affected by the same current. 

Ripple marks, then, do not occur in pure mud. They are only 
formed on the sand, of whatever purity it may be. Although very 
muddy, as especially in the same locality, on the beaches of An- 
goulins, the sands cover it very easily. The bank with ripple marks, 
which we have already noticed in Bretagne in the river Trieux, was 
of a muddy sand, as is evidenced: by the bright reflection of the sun- 
light on its surface. 

It may be asserted that these undulations are nowhere so fine and 
sharp as where the currents find in suspension in the water which 
they propel enough clay to cement the always crumbling sandy ma- 
terials of these ephemeral structures. If the sand is very pure, the 
grains roll too easily on one another and are prevented from coming 
to rest on the sides of the furrow. Such ridges consequently have a 
wider base and proportionately less height than ripple marks of a 
smaller size formed on bottoms that are slightly muddy. If the sand 
is not only pure, but of very large grains, such as is encountered, for 
example, at Penmark, at Guilvinnec, and at Langoz, or again south 
of Concarneau from the point of Jument to that of Trévignon, then 
the ripple marks are formed with great difficulty. They occur here 
only under the influence of very strong currents and attain in this 
case very remarkable dimensions. 

From this circumstance I am led to formulate the last of the 
observations that I shall present, to wit, their dimensions are always 
in direct relation to the force of the currents that form them. If in 
the bay of Goulven, after having taken the view No. 1, with the 
coast of Plouescat for the horizon line, I had made a half turn and 
had advanced 200 or 300 paces in a new direction toward Brignogan, 
I should have photographed ripple marks twice the size of those 
shown in figure 1. It is in this place that the creek that serves as 
the outlet of the marsh and bay passes through, much increased in 
breadth and lacking depth, though still rapid. During the whole 
time of the ebb, the entire strength of the current bears on this point, 
and the ridges on the coarse sands transported there reach an excep- 
tional size. 


318 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913, 


In the same manner may be explained the dimensions of the ripple 
marks on the bar of the Belon. By itself the Belon does not exist as 
a river. Close to its mouth toward Riec and Moélan, in the vicinity 
of Guilly, it is— 

A small brook, scarcely appearing to flow. 
A thirsty giant drinks it up at a breath. 


But between the two resisting ledges of granite the ocean has fur- 
rowed in its direction landward a passage or fjord, at the outlet of 
which, between the points of Riec and Kerfany, this brook in the 
open sea takes on at the hour of the ebb the proportions and the force 
of an impetuous river. Its sound is considerable, and the depth of 
the channels furrowed in the sands of the bar measures its power, 
just as the size of the ripple marks formed opposite the point of 
Menson reveal the currents that flow around the island of Oléron. 

To summarize, I shall formulate the following conclusions: 

1. Ripple marks are due entirely to the action of water. 

2. They are never formed on the upper beach nor on entirely 
muddy bottoms. 

3. They appear on all parts of the lower beach, where, on the 
sandy bottom, a transverse current cuts across the normal current of 
the ebb. 

4, They are aligned in the direction of the transverse current. 
Their direction, if they deviate, expresses the relation of the two 
forces which are in action. 

5. Their dimensions are a function of the nature of the bottom, the 
size of the grains of sand, and the velocity of the water. 


NOTES ON THE GEOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE WAL- 
NUTS AND HICKORIES.1 


By Epwarp W. BERBY, 


The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md. 


The walnut family (Juglandaceae), which in the popular mind 
is fully rounded out by the enumeration of the walnut, butternut, 
hickory, and pignut, while relatively small, is by no means as limited 
as this might indicate. According to current imterpretations there 
are 6 genera and about 40 species widely scattered throughout the 
warmer parts of the North Temperate Zone and penetrating some 
distance south of the Equator along the Andes in South America, and 
in the East Indies. 

The Juglandaceae are of considerable interest for a variety of 
reasons, chief among which, aside from their great economic impor- 
tance, are their long line of ancestors reaching back some millions 
of years to the mid-Cretaceous, and the former wide range and 
abundance of these ancestors, which also serves to explain the curious 
geographical distribution of the still existing species. They are 
also interesting because of the much discussed question as to whether 
their morphological characters shall be interpreted as primitive or as 
mere simplifications of a more highly organized stock. 

Not all of the genera have adopted the same methods of seed 
dispersal and certain genera have kept the seed part of their fruits 
comparatively small and light, thus enabling them to produce large 
numbers of seeds with the same expenditure of energy required for 
a single walnut. Furthermore, instead of depending altogether upon 
chance for the dissemination of their latent progeny, the bracts which 
are normally present have developed enormously and serve as wings. 
This is especially true in the genera H’ngelhardtia and Oreomunnea 
and will be referred to on a subsequent page. 

The fruits unmistakably indicate the genera—those of the hickory 
have smooth shells and a husk which splits more or less, the walnuts 
and butternuts have a very rugose surface and an entire husk, while 
Engelhardtia, Oreomu’rmea, and Pterocarya have small compound 
winged fruits. The leaves are always compound, indicating a trop- 


1 Reprinted by permission from The Plant World, vol. 15, No. 10, October, 1912. 
319 


320 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913, 


ical ancestry, as was first enunciated by Grisebach. They may be 
distinguished from those of the ash by being alternately arranged 
instead of opposite. There are numerous other details which enable 
the student to distinguish between the leaves of the different genera 
and species. It will be convenient to take up each genus separately 
and describe something of its present range and such portion of its 
geologic history as is known. 


THE GENUS HICORIA. 


The hickories are now referred to the genus Hicoria, proposed 
by Rafinesque in 1808, although many systematists, especially in the 
Old World, still use the name Carya proposed by Nuttall in 1818 and 
universally used until about 20 years ago. 

The hickories occupy a unique economic position, for while the 
consumption of this wood is less in quantity than that of some of the 
other hardwoods such as white oak or yellow poplar, or of various 
coniferous trees like the cypress or the pines, it shares with the 
black walnut the distinction of being the most costly American wood. 
Hickory, while not remarkable for beauty of color or of grain, will 
probably be the most difficult wood to replace when the approaching 
shortage becomes more acute, since it combines weight, hardness, 
stiffness, strength, and toughness to a degree unequaled among com- 
mercial woods. The Forest Service estimates that the consumption 
of hickory for lumber, spokes, tool handles, rims, shafts, sucker rods, 
etc., amounted to 450,000,000 board feet during 1908, exclusive of 
the large amount used as fuel, estimated at about 1,000,000 cords— 
for hickory is also the best American fuel wood. 

The genus Hicoria is entirely confined to North America in the 
existing flora, more particularly to the eastern United States, 
although there is an indigenous species in Mexico (Hicoria mewi- 
cana), and three or four other species reach their northern limit of 
growth beyond the Great Lakes in eastern Canada. 

The existing species number from 8 to 15, according to the rank 
assigned to the varieties of the 8 or 9 easily distinguished and main 
types. They fall naturally into two groups—the true hickories and 
the pecan hickories—groups which were already clearly defined in 
preglacial Pliocene times. 

The true hickories are fine, slow growing trees of in general tem- 
perate dry soils with hard strong wood. The buds are full, with 
overlapping scales, and the nuts are generally thick shelled and 
thick husked, while the leaflets are from three to nine in number. 
The pecan hickories are trees which require warmth and moisture, 
and possess relatively weak wood. The buds are thin and narrow 
without overlapping scales and the nuts have thin shells and thin 
husks while the leaflets are numerous, slender, and falcate. 


WALNUTS AND HICKORIES—BERRY. 321 


Over a score of fossil species have been described. Unlike the 
walnut the hickory is not known with certainty from the Cre- 
taceous, but it is present in very early Eocene deposits in Wyoming 
and on the Pacific coast. Hickories occur in the upper Eocene of 


which the genus is known to have spread during its past history (vertical lining). 


ic. 1.—Sketch map showing the area of distribution of the existing species of Hicoria (solid black) and the area over 


Central Europe and there is a fine large leafed species from deposits 

of this age at Kukak Bay, Alaska. The Oligocene occurrences 

are largely referred to Hicoria ventricosa which is abundantly 

represented by leaves and fruit in the Oligocene browncoal deposits 
44863°—sM 19138 21 


322 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


of Europe. The late Miocene appears to have been the period of 
widest extent of the hickories. From deposits of this age about 
a dozen species are known. Trees were scattered all over Europe 
and the genus extended to Iceland, Greenland, and Spitzbergen. 
In North America there were species in Oregon and California, in 
Colorado and in Vermont. <A species very close to the existing pecan 
occurs in the late Miocene of New Jersey. 

During the succeeding Pliocene period the hickories are as abund- 
ant and vigorous as in the late Miocene in Europe although their 
northern limit appears to have become somewhat restricted. Even 
as late as the Upper Pliocene several species of hickory are abundant 
in Italy and Germany, but none survived the ice age on that con- 
tinent. 

A species resembling the pecan is represented by both leaves and 
nuts in a late Phocene lagoon deposit in southern Alabama. In 
America there are numerous Pleistocene records, the leaves being 
preserved in the clay deposits of the river terraces and the fruits 
in the buried swamp deposits. The following still existing species 
are recorded from the Pleistocene of this country; Hicoria pecan 
from the old Mississippi bluffs at Columbus, Ky.; Zicoria alba from 
a cave in Pennsylvania, and from the interglacial beds near Toronto, 
Canada; Hicoria aquatica from North Carolina; Wicoria ovata from 
Pennsylvania, Maryland, and North Carolina; Hicoria villosa from 
Alabama; and Hicoria glabra from Pennsylvania, Maryland, Vir- 
ginia, and North Carolina. 

The accompanying map (fig. 1) shows the area occupied by the 
existing species in solid black and the known Tertiary range by ver- 
tical lining. It seems probable that the genus spread eastward over 
Asia, but the latter continent has been so little explored that no 
records are known. 

While the Ice Age exterminated the hickories from Eurasia, the 
genus survived safely in North America and is in no danger of 
extermination except by the ax of the woodman. Their great toler- 
ance of shade and their ability to respond to the stimulus of increased 
light, combined with their longevity, are important factors in their 
continued existence. While the rodents consume many of the fruits, 
they have probably done so during the whole history of the genus, 
for nuts gnawed by squirrels are not infrequent in Pleistocene depos- 
its. This is not an unmixed evil, for various rodents not only dis- 
tribute the species but bury the nuts in forgotten places, where they 
are almost sure to grow. Before the advent of the “ civilized ax” 
many venerable old giant hickories were scattered through our Amer- 
ican forests and there are numerous records of immense trunks show- 
ing 350 or more annual rings. 


WALNUTS AND HICKORIES—BERRY. ove 
THE GENUS JUGLANS. 


The name Juglans is a contraction of Jovis glans, or nut of Jupi- 
ter, and the specific name of the species known to the ancient Greeks 
and Romans is regia, or royal, and is fittingly applied to the mag- 
nificent tree which has been so commonly planted throughout the 
Old World for so many centuries. Nuts are found under the Swiss 
lake dwellings of the Neolithic period. Our two eastern American 
species are equally royal trees. The black walnut, Juglans nigra 
Linné, ranges from Massachusetts to southern Ontario, Minnesota, 
and eastern Kansas, and southward to Florida and Texas. Its rich 
edible fruits are unsurpassed among nuts and the handsome dark 
wood has made it a favorite wherever furniture is manufactured, 
and in consequence the tree is becoming scarce. It makes a fine 
growth when planted abroad, and undoubtedly was a native of 
Europe in preglacial time, as is shown by nuts preserved in the Plio- 
cene deposits of that country, which are indistinguishable from the 
existing species. The butternut or white walnut, Juglans cinerea 
Linné, yields a wood that is much inferior to the black walnut, but 
its fruit is equally attractive. It ranges somewhat farther to the 
northward and not so far to the southward as the black walnut, being 
found from New Brunswick and Ontario to North Dakota and south- 
ward to Delaware. In the Alleghanian region it extends southward 
to Georgia and northeastern Mississippi and it is also found in 
Arkansas. It is distinctly not a coastal-plain species. Like the black 
walnut, it is very closely allied to certain preglacial European forms. 
There are several other American species with a more limited range. 
They are all trees, and include a Jamaican form and one or two 
species found in the Andes of Bolivia. A species of northern Mex- 
ico, Juglans rupestris Engelmann, extends into Arizona, New Mexico, 
and the Rio Grande part of Texas, and there is a single species, Jug- 
lans californica Watson, along the Pacific coast in California. The 
range of the latter is limited and its seedlings are scarce, the nuts 
being largely consumed by rodents. There is also a species of walnut 
on the opposite shore of the Pacific in Manchuria. 

The genus Juglans is apparently one of the earliest of the still- 
existing dicotyledonous genera to appear in the fossil record, leaves 
suggesting it having been found in the middle Cretaceous. It is well 
represented in fossil flora from the base of the Upper Cretaceous to 
the present, the former horizon furnishing at least seven species, one 
of which, Juglans arctica Heer, ranges from Greenland to Alabama 
along the Atlantic coast and furnishes a striking illustration of the 
difference between Cretaceous and present-day climates. 

There are about 25 Eocene species of walnut well distributed over 
the Northern Hemisphere. They extend from the Mexican Gulf 


324 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


region to Alaska and Greenland in North America and from Saghalin 
Island, off the east coast of Asia, to western Europe in the Old 
World. 

The Oligocene walnuts are not quite so plentiful as are those of the 
Eocene and are almost entirely confined to the Old World. This is 
undoubtedly an expression of the incompleteness of the geological 
record in North America, since there are practically no known Oligo- 
cene plant beds in this country. 

The Miocene has furnished upwards of two score species, the 
majority of which are Old World forms, distributed from Japan to 
western Europe. This again is due more to lack of records in 
America than to the absence of the genus. In this country nuts are 
preserved in the curiously isolated lignite deposit near Brandon, Vt. 
There are species in Idaho, several in California and Oregon, and 
four in Colorado in the late Miocene at Florissant. Both fruit and 
leaves are frequently found associated in the various Tertiary de- 
posits and nuts also occur with the leaves in some of the Cretaceous 
deposits. 

The Pliocene species are also numerous, a number of them surviv- 
ing from Miocene times. In all, about 25 forms have been recorded 
from the Pliocene deposits, and several of these are very close, if not 
identical, with still-existing species. From the Upper Plocene of 
Germany nuts have been collected in the lignite deposits which are 
exactly like those of the existing American species Juglans nigra and 
Juglans cinerea. 

Walnuts are not common in Pleistocene deposits but the fruit of 
Juglans regia Linné is recorded from the Pleistocene of southern 
France, and our own black walnut, Juglans nigra Linné, has been 
found in the late Pleistocene of Maryland and in the Pleistocene 
river terraces of Alabama. Both of these occurrences are based upon 
the characteristic nuts preserved in the impure peat of buried swamp 
deposits. 

The walnut of Europe, /uglans regia Linné, while extensively 
planted in southern Europe as well as throughout the Orient, is only 
endemic in Greece* and eastward through Asia Minor, Transcau- 
casia, the northwestern Himalayan region, and in northern Burma.’ 

In recent geological times its range has probably become greatly 
restricted, since the oldest known occurrence of forms identical with 
the modern tree are in the latest Miocene deposits of central France. 
A considerable number of occurrences have been recorded from the 
Pliocene deposits of this region, and the central plateau of France 
was evidently clothed with a considerable stand of walnut in pre- 
glacial times. During the Pleistocene this species is known from a 


1 Mentioned from Greece in Theophrastus and occurrence confirmed in recent years by 
Heldreich and others. ~ 
2 Possibly also in the mountains of northern China and Japan, 


WALNUTS AND HICKORIES—BERRY. 325 


number of localities in northern Italy, in Hanover, and in southern 
France (Provence), while the nuts found associated with the Swiss 
lake dwellings were undoubtedly obtained from wild trees of the 
immediate neighborhood. 


species of Juglans (solid black) and the area over 


ts past history (vertical lining). 


which the genus is known to have spread during i 


Wie. 2.—Sketch map showing the area of distribution of the existing 


The manner in which the fossils enable us to obtain a vista into 
the life of bygone days is furnished by recent discoveries in the 
Egyptian desert. At a time (latest Eocene or earliest Oligocene) 
when Libya was separated from Europe and Asia by a vast Mediter- 


326 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


ranean sea the Fayum was a delta with a heavy rainfall (as shown 
by the flora), clothed with forests of an Indomalayan type and in- 
habited by ancestral elephants and other curious forms of ancient 
animal life. No less than eight kinds of figs, as well as laurels and 
camphor trees, have been described from this now arid and desiccated 
region. Among these fossil plants are the remains of a species of 
walnut, a striking commentary on the changes which have since 
taken place. 

I have attempted to give a graphic summary of the present and 
past range of the walnuts on the accompanying sketch map (fig. 2), 
where the areas of distribution of the existing species (somewhat 
exaggerated) are shown in solid black. It is possible that the part 
of the range of Juglans regia in southern Asia should be extended 
eastward over Tibet, through northern China to Japan. All of the 
known fossil occurrences of walnuts have been plotted and are in- 
closed within the vertically lined area. Probably the boundary of 
the southward extension of the genus should be extended, at least 
sufficiently far to include the South American existing species. It 
is readily apparent from this map that the modern segregated species 
are isolated remnants of a once world-wide distribution and that the 
glacial epoch was an unimportant incident in their history on the 
North American continent, while in Europe it greatly restricted the 
range of Juglans regia and altogether exterminated one or two addi- 
tional species of the walnut. 


THE GENUS ENGELHARDTIA. 


The genus Lngelhardtia was described by Leschen in 1825 and con- 
tains about 10 species of the southeastern Asiatic area. These range 
from the northwestern Himalayan region, where they extend a short 
distance north of the Tropic of Cancer through farther India and 
Burma to Java and the Philippines. The pistillate flowers are small 
and are grouped in paniculate spikes. They develop into small 
drupe-like fruits, each of which is connate at the base to a large 
expanded trialate involucre. 

A single little-known species, rarely represented in even the larger 
herbaria, occurs in Central America and is the type and only species 
of the genus Oreomunnea of Oersted. This is much more restricted 
in its range than are its kin beyond the Pacific. Ovreomunnea is 
very close to Xngelhardtia, and for the purposes of the paleobotanist 
the two may be considered as identical, since they represent the but 
slightly modified descendants of a common ancestry which was of 
cosmopolitan distribution during the early Tertiary. The present 
isolation of Oreomunnea furnishes a striking illustration of the 
enormous changes which have taken place in the flora of the world 


WALNUTS AND HICKORIES—BERRY. 327 


in the relatively short time, geologically speaking, that has elapsed 
since the dawn of the Tertiary. 

The principle has frequently been enunciated that when closely 
related forms are found in the existing flora of the world, restricted 
in range and isolated from their nearest relatives, or when other 
existing genera are monotypic, it is quite safe to predict an inter- 
esting and extending geological history. H'ngelhardtia proves to be 
another illustration of this principle, for its peculiar three-winged 
fruits have been known in the fossil state for almost a century. 
They were long unrecognized, however, and the earlier students who 
described them compared them with the somewhat similar winged 
fruits of the genus Carpinus (Betulaceae). With the botanical ex- 
ploration of distant lands in the early part of the nineteenth cen- 


NCANG 


x aA z Clas Oey” 
PSE CU 


9 ; iw DO 
. T}4 KE Try] 


ta 
‘ 


s 
: 
b) ‘ 
“ 


Fic. 3.—Engelhardtia (Oreomunnea) mississippiensis Berry, from the lower 
Eocene of Mississippi (natural size). 


tury, specimens of Lngelhardtia began to be represented in the larger 
European herbaria, and Baron Ettingshausen, that most sagacious 
of paleobotanists, as long ago as 1851 pointed out that certain sup- 
posed species of Carpinus were really fruits of Hngelhardtia. He 
returned to the subject in 1858 without, however, actually changing 
the names of any of the supposed species of Carpinus, nor does he 
seem to have been aware of the existence of a living species of L’ngel- 
hardtia (Oreomunnea) in Central America. 

Since Ettingshausen’s announcement a dozen or more fossil species 
have been described. The oldest known European form occurs in 
the upper Eocene or lower Oligocene (Ligurien) of France, and the 
species become increasingly abundant throughout southern Europe 


328 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


especially toward the close of the Oligocene and the dawn of the 
Miocene, Saporta stating that the slabs from the leaf beds at Armis- 
san in southeastern France are thickly strewn with their peculiar 
fruits. Fossil forms continue in Europe throughout the Miocene 


h Platy cOcua 
Faerodarun 
rgelhardtia 


co uJ 


and Pterocarya (solid biack) and the area over which they are known to have spread during their past history, 


Fig. 4:—Sketch map showing the area of distribution of the existing species of Hngelhardtia, Oreomunnea, Platycarya, 
Pterocarya indicated by vertical lining and Hngelhardtia (including Oreomunnea) by horizontal lining. 


and Pliocene, and specimens of late Miocene or early Pliocene age 
are recorded from Spain, France, Italy, Croatia, and Hungary. 

The only described species from America occurs somewhat earlier 
than any of the European forms, being found in the lower Eocene 


WALNUTS AND HICKORIES—BERRY. 329 


(Wilcox group) of northern Mississippi. The type figure of this 
form is reproduced in figure 3. This is not the only known species 
from America, however, as fossil leaves of this or other species occur 
at the same horizon, and an additional species with smaller fruits 
has recently been discovered by the writer in the middle Eocene 
(Claiborne group) of southern Arkansas. 

The accompanying sketch map (fig. 4) shows the existing area of 
distribution of the genus “ngelhardtia in the Orient and Oreomun- 
nea in the Occident in solid black. These areas are somewhat gener- 
alized and exaggerated in order to be visible on so small a scale map. 

The areas where Tertiary species of /ngelhardtia have been found 
are covered by horizontal lining, and while not as extensive as might 
be desired, indicate very clearly what was stated a few paragraphs 
back, that forms closely allied to the modern Hngelhardtia were 
widespread during the Tertiary period when the more extensive 
warm climate enabled them to penetrate more than half way across 
the North Temperate Zone. It seems probable that they also pushed 
southward into the South Temperate Zone, but we can not verify nor 
disprove this theory since practically no fossil plants of Tertiary age 
have been discovered in South America, Africa, or Australia. 
Another probability is that careful exploration will disclose the living 
representatives of this widespread Tertiary stock in western Brazil, 
especially as they have survived in Central America north of the 
Equator. 

In a general way “H’ngelhardtia fruits are not unlike those of 
Carpinus. There seems to be little occasion for confusion, however, 
even in poorly preserved fossil material. The fruit proper is de- 
cidedly different, although this is seldom well enough preserved in 
fossils to be decisive. The involucre is also markedly different in the 
two genera. Carpinus involucres are usually smaller, with the me- 
dian wing much wider and longer than the lateral wings and with 
somewhat different venation. 

The margins are also toothed, while in Engelhardtia they are 
always entire. I have examined fruits of all the existing species of 
Carpinus and experience no difficulty in readily distinguishing them 
from those of H'ngelhardtia, the American species of the former being 
especially different in appearance from those of Engelhardtia. I 
have seen involucres of the Old World Carpinus betulus from trees 
cultivated in this country in which the wings had entire or nearly 
entire margins, but the aspect of the specimens as a whole, because 
of their different proportions and venation, was markedly unlike 
Engelhardtia, and if they had been found as fossils no competent 
paleobotanist would have been at a loss regarding their botanical 
affinity for a single instant. 


330 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 
THE GENUS PTEROCARYA. 


The genus Pterocarya was described by Kunth in 1824. It is made 
up of three or four species with very circumscribed ranges. The 
type Pterocarya caucasica A. Meyer (P. fraxinifolia Spach.) at 
present is confined to a limited area in trans-Caucasus, while another 
species occurs in northern China and one or two in Japan, as shown 
in a greatly exaggerated way in the solid black areas on figure 4. 

The determination of the fossil species from their leaves is beset 
with difficulties, but the fruits are perfectly characteristic and have 
been found in a number of instances. 

The oldest known fossil species is recorded from the Tertiary of 
Colorado, and while the American material that can be referred to 
this genus is not abundant at any period the genus undoubtedly 
occurred on this continent during the later Tertiary. One record is 
from deposits as late as the early Pleistocene, but this is not based 
upon positively identified material. 

In Europe the records of Pterocarya commence with the Oli- 
gocene. The Tertiary species are numerous and widespread, the 
abundant Pterocarya denticulata Heer being found from Bohemia 
and Transylvania through Germany, Switzerland, and England 
northward to western Greenland. This widespread species which 
continues unabated throughout the Pliocene period is thought to be 
the direct ancestor of the existing Pterocarya caucasica. There are 
at least five additional Miocene species. 

The Pliocene species are numerous and abundant, and are found 
all over southern Europe, being especially common along the elevated 
shores of the extended Mediterranean Sea, in the plateau region of 
central France, and in the Apennines of Italy. The still existing 
Pterocarya caucasica makes its appearance in the plateau region of 
central France at this time where it is represented by both leaves and 
the characteristic fruits. It still grew in Netherlands in the early 
Pleistocene, according to Dubois, but was apparently exterminated 
during the glacial period. It is also known from the Altai Mountains 
of Central Asia in deposits of this age. In figure 4 the known range 
of the fossil species is shown by vertical lining. It seems obvious 
from the distribution of the ancestral forms and the very circum- 
scribed range of the few living descendants that the genus is ap- 
proaching extinction. 


THE GENUS PLATYCARYA. 


The genus Platycarya was characterized by Siebold and Zuccarini, 
who have described so many oriental plants. It is a monotypic genus; 
that is to say, it contains a single existing species, which was the 
basis of the genus Yortunaea of Lindley. This single species is a 


WALNUTS AND HICKORIES—BERRY. Sok 


small tree of Japan and northern China, and its range is roughly 
shown on the accompanying map (fig. 4) in solid black. Monotypic 
genera usually have a very interesting geological history, as, for 
example, Sassafras, Comptonia, Ginkgo, and many others. However, 
no fossil remains of Platycarya have been discovered, and this is 
probably due to the fact that the vast continent of Asia is practically 


unexplored. 
CONCLUSION. 


Forestry experts warn us that commercial hickory is growing 
scarce, just as the black walnut is already scarce. Aside from our 
enjoyment of their fruits and the very special practical ends which 
the wood fulfills we should not forget the sentiment which attaches 
to a family of such magnificent trees, a family with an ancestry, as 
we have just seen, extending back millions of years to a far-off time 
when the dominant animal population of the globe was the uncouth 
reptiles of the Cretaceous, a time when the evolution of the mam- 
malia had not yet been wrought out, and when man was a far-distant 
promise, not even hinted at in the teeming life of that age. While 
we can never hope to bring back the primeval forests of our ancestors, 
we can use the intelligence which has been so slowly acquired through 
the ages in conserving these magnificent tree relics of bygone ages. 


THE FORMATION OF LEAFMOLD.! 


By FREDERICK V. COVILLE. 


When the leaves of a tree fall to the ground they begin to decay 
and ultimately they are disintegrated and their substance becomes 
incorporated with the other elements of the soil. The same thing 
happens with the leaves, stems, and roots of herbaceous plants. 
Such organic matter is one of the chief sources of food for plants, 
and its presence in the soil is therefore of fundamental importance 
in the maintenance of the vegetative mantle of the earth. 

In a series of experiments from 1906 to 1910 the speaker showed 
that a condition of acidity is a primary requirement of the blue- 
berry (Vaccinium), laurel (Halmia latifolia), trailing arbutus (£'pi- 
gaea repens), and other plants associated with them in natural dis- 
tribution. Other kinds of plants and plant associations require, on 
the contrary, a neutral or alkaline soil. 

It is the purpose of the present address to show how the leaves of 
trees in the process of the formation of leafmold produce at one 
time or under one set of circumstances a condition of soil acidity, at 
another time or under other circumstances a condition of alkalinity, 
and after calling attention to the acidity of the soil as a funda- 
mental factor in plant ecology, to point out that a knowledge of 
certain phenomena in the decay of leaves is essential to a correct 
understanding of the distribution of vegetation over the surface of 
the earth and its adaptation to the uses of man. 

In the early experiments with blueberries it had been found that 
these plants grew successfully in certain acid soils composed chiefly 
of partially rotted oak leaves. On the rather natural assumption 
that the more thorough the decomposition of this material the more 
luxuriant would be the growth of the blueberry plants, some old oak 
leafmold was secured for further experiments. It had been rotting 
for about five years and all evidences of leaf structure had disap- 
peared. It had become a black mellow vegetal mold. 

1 Address of the retiring president, Washington Academy of Sciences, presented at the 


annual meeting of the Academy, Jan. 16, 1913. Reprinted with author’s revision from 
the Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences, vol. 3, pp. 77 to 89, Feb. 4, 1913. 


333 


334 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


When blueberry plants were placed in mixtures containing this 
mold they did not respond with luxuriant growth. On the contrary 
their leaves turned purple and afterward yellowish, their growth 
dwindled to almost nothing, and at the end of the season when com- 
pared with other blueberry plants grown in a soil mixture in which 
the oak leafmold was replaced by only partially decomposed oak 
leaves the plants in the oak leafmold were found to weigh only 
one-fifth as much as the others. This astonishing result is exactly 
contrary to the ordinary conception. We have been accustomed to 
believe that the more thoroughly decomposed the organic matter of 
a soil the more luxuriant its vegetation. In this case, however, 
thorough decomposition of the soil was exceedingly injurious to,the 
plants. f 

This remarkable difference in effect between partially decomposed 
and thoroughly decomposed oak leaves was found to be correlated 
with a difference in the chemical reaction of the two materials, the 
partially decomposed oak leaves being acid, when tested with phe- 
nolphthalein, and the oak leafmold allxaline. 

With rose cuttings and alfalfa seedlings in the same two soils 
exactly opposite results followed, those in the oak leafmold making 
a luxuriant growth, those in the partially decomposed oak leaves 
showing every sign of starvation. 

Every botanist is familiar with the rich woods where trillium, 
spring beauty (Claytonia), mertensia, and blood root (Sanguinaria 
canadensis) delight to grow, in a black mellow mold made up chiefly 
of rotted leaves. He is familiar, too, with the sandy pine and oak 
woods where grow huckleberries (Gaylussacia), laurel (almia lati- 
folia), princess pine (CAimaphila), the pink lady’s shpper (Cyp- 
ripedium acaule), and trailing arbutus (pigaea repens). The soil 
here also is made up chiefly of rotting leaves and roots. Yet one does 
not look for trilliums in laurel thickets, or for arbutus among the 
bloodroots. Either habitat is utterly repugnant to the plants of the 
other. 

Tests of the two habitats show that the trilhum soil is alkaline, 
the other acid, reactions corresponding exactly to those observed in 
the cultural experiments already described, rose cuttings and alfalfa 
requiring an alkaline soil, blueberries an acid soil. The difference 
is as conspicuous in nature as in the laboratory and the greenhouse. 

What are the conditions under which rotting leaves develop these 
opposite chemical reactions? 

In a ravine in the Arlington National Cemetery, near Washington, 
where the autumn leaf fall from an oak grove has been dumped 
year after year for many years, every stage in the decomposition of 
oak leaves may be observed, from the first softening of the dry 


FORMATION OF LEAFMOLD—COVILLE. go 


brown leaf by rain to the black mellow leafmold in which all traces 
of leaf structure have disappeared. When freshly fallen the leaves 
show 0.4normalacidity.t. Those not familiar with the chemical expres- 
sion “normal acidity ” may perhaps most readily understand the term 
by reference to ordinary lemon juice, which has very nearly normal 
acidity in the chemical sense. Fresh oak leaves may be conceived 
therefore as having about one-third the acidity of lemon juice, gram 
to cubic centimeter. From a soil standpoint such a degree of acidity 
is exceedingly high. Probably no tree or flowering plant could live 
if its roots were imbedded in a soil as acid as this. A correct ap- 
_preciation of the excessive acidity of freshly fallen leaves enables 
one to understand why it is that the leaves of our lawn trees, if 
allowed to lie and leach upon the grass, either injure or destroy it. 
On such neglected lawns the turf grows thin, mossy, and starved. 

From the height of their initial acidity it is a long descending 
course through the various stages of leaf decomposition to the point 
of chemical neutrality, and then upward a lesser distance on the 
hill of alkalinity, in the black leafmold stage. 

In order to ascertain the rate of decomposition in leaves of various 
kinds, observations were begun in the autumn of 1909 on leaves of 
silver maple (Acer saccharinum), sugar maple (Acer saccharum), 
red oak (Quercus rubra), and scrub pine (Pinus virginiana), ex- 
posed to the weather in barrels and in concrete pits. In one experi- 
ment a mass of trodden silver maple leaves 2 feet in depth, with an 
initial acidity of 0.92 normal, was reduced in a single year to a 3-inch 
layer of black mold containing only a few fragments of leaf skeletons 
and giving an alkaline reaction. In these experiments sugar maple 
leaves have shown a slower rate of decomposition than those of silver 
maple, while red oak leaves still show an acidity of 0.010 normal after 
three years of exposure, and leaves of Virginia pine an acidity of 
0.055 normal under the same conditions. 

The alkalinity of leafmold is due chiefly to the lime it contains, 
the lime content expressed in terms of calcium oxid often reaching 
2 to 8 per cent of the dry weight. One sample had a lime content of 
2.55 per cent. Many of the soils that result directly and exclusively 
from the decomposition of limestone have a lower percentage of lime 
than this. An alkaline leafmold containing 2 to 3 per cent of lime is 
properly regarded as a highly calcareous soil. Yet such a deposit may 
be formed in a region where the underlying soil is distinctly non- 
calcareous, the lime content of the soil being only a small fraction 
of 1 per cent and the soil reaction being acid. 

1Jn the acidity determinations, made by Mr. J. F. Breazeale, phenolphthalein was used 
as an indicator, the carbon dioxid having been first boiled off. For a full description 


of the method followed, see Coville, 1910, p. 27, Experiments in blueberry culture, Bul- 
letin 193, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 


336 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


Whence comes the abundance of lime in an alkaline, richly cal- 
careous leafmold formed over a soil distinguished by an actual 
poverty of calcareous matter ? 

If the leafmold is rich in lime the leaves from which it is derived 
should also be rich in lime. A determination of the amount of cal- 
cium oxid in the dried freshly fallen leaves of some of our well- 
known trees shows this to be true, as illustrated by the following 


selections: 1 
Per cent of 


Kind of leaves. calcium oxid. 
RECOM NCO LENnCWS: TUT) oe Se oe eee vies 
Silver anaple?(Aicers succherinum) 2 eee eee 1.88 
Pin oaks (Quercus, palustris)—_-2 128 JJ oe \ Senha ee 1. 91 
Sweet gum (Liquidambar styracifiua) _~_-__________________ 1.92 
BurloOnk(OUCTCUS MAChOCOnDO) 6. eee 2. 39 
Mas! ANETICONG) 2 2 8 a A 
Nussremeaple” CAGE? SaCCharum) 22 ee Se er 
Tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) _-_-_____--_____ dS Oe 
ickory.. Chicora myrsticaeformis) t= te eae eee 3. 66 
GingkomCGinkgo, 0tlovG) 2-4-8. a. 3 a eee 4.38 
BaSSWwOOd mn ChiG CMeTiCdnd)) =. 6 ae eee eee 4.50 
Orange (Citrus aurantium) —-——~------_- sone es i 6. 77 


These analyses show that the amount of lime in the leaves of trees 
is often astonishingly large. 

It should be understood that the lime does not exist in the leaf in 
the form of actual calcium oxid. It is largely combined with the 
acids of the leaf and serves in part to neutralize them, but is insuffi- 
cient in amount to effect a complete neutralization. In all the kinds 
of leaves and herbage thus far examined the net result is an acid 
condition, although lime may be present in large amount. Thus in 
the leaves of silver maple a condition of excessive acidity exists, 
about 0.9 normal, notwithstanding the presence of nearly 2 per cent 
of lime. 

As the decomposition of such leaves progresses the acid sub- 
stances are disorganized and largely dissipated in the form of gases 
and liquids, while the lime, being only siightly soluble, remains with 
the residue of decomposition, the black leafmold, and renders it 
alkaline. 

In soils poor in lime, trees and other plants constituting the vege- 
tative mantle of the earth may be regarded as machines for concen- 
trating lime at the surface of the ground. This lime is drawn up by 
the roots in dilute solution from lower depths, is concentrated in 
the foliage, and the concentrate is transferred to the ground by the 
fall and decomposition of the leaves. The proverbial agricultural 
fertility of the virgin timberlands of our country was undoubtedly 


1 The lime determinations were made by Mr. J. F. Breazeale, of the Bureau of Chem- 
istry, Department of Agriculture. 


FORMATION OF LEAFMOLD—COVILLE. 387 


due in large part to the lime accumulated on the forest floor by the 
trees in preceding centuries, and to the consequent alkalinity of such 
surface soils when the timber had been removed and the leaf litter 
was thoroughly decomposed. After a generation or two of reckless 
removal of crops the surface accumulation of lime was depleted and 
unless the underlying soil was naturally calcareous a condition of 
infertility ensued, which, for the purposes of ordinary agriculture, 
could be remedied only by the artificial application of lime. 

The chief agents in the decay of leaves are undoubtedly fungi and 
bacteria. There are other agencies, however, that contribute greatly 
to the rapidity of decay. Important among these are earthworms, 
larvee of flies and beetles, and myriapods or thousand-legged worms. 
Animals of all these groups exist in myriads in the leaf litter. They 
eat the leaves, grind them, partially decompose them in the process 
of digestion, and restore them again to the soil, well prepared for the 
further decomposing action of the microscopic organisms of decay. 

The importance of earthworms in hastening the decay of vegetal 
matter was pointed out long ago by Darwin in his classical studies 
on that subject. The importance of myriapods, however, as con- 
tributing to the formation of leafmold has not been adequately 
recognized. In the canyon of the Potomac River, above Washington, 
on the steeper forested talus slopes, especially those facing north- 
ward, the formation of alkaline leafmold is in active progress. The 
purer deposits are found in pockets among the rocks, where the leaf- 
mold is not in contact with the mineral soil and does not become 
mixed with it. The slope directly opposite Plummers Island is a 
good example of such localities. Here during all the warm months 
the fallen leaves of the mixed hardwood forest are occupied by an 
army of myriapods, the largest and most abundant being a species 
known as Spirobolus marginatus. The adults are about 3 inches in 
length and a quarter of an inch in diameter. They remain under- 
neath the leaves in the daytime and emerge in great numbers at 
night. On one occasion a thousand were picked up by Mr. H. S. 
Barber on an area 10 by 100 feet, without disturbing the leaves. 
On another occasion an area 4 by 20 feet yielded 320 of these myria- 
pods, the leaf litter in this case being carefully searched. Every- 
where are evidences of the activity of these animals in the deposits 
of ground-up leaves and rotten wood. Careful measurements of the 
work of the animals in captivity show that the excrement of the 
adults amounts to about half a cubic centimeter each per day. It is 
estimated on the basis of the moist weight of the material that these 
animals are contributing each year to the formation of leafmold at 
the rate of more than 2 tons per acre. 

The decay of leaves is greatly accelerated also when the under- 
lying soil is calcareous and alkaline, it being immaterial whether the 

44863°—sm 1913 22 


338 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913, 


lime is derived from a limestone formation or is a concentrate of 
the vegetation. On the rich bottom-land islands of the upper Poto- 
mac the autumn leaf fall barely lasts through the following summer, 
so rapid is its decay. These bottom lands have an alkaline flora, and 
they are found to have an alkaline reaction, caused by the lime 
brought to them in the flood waters. 

The acceleration of leaf decay by an alkaline substratum is due to 
prompt neutralization of the acid leachings of the leaves and also 
to the fact that such a substratum harbors with great efficiency many 
of the most active organisms of decay, from bacteria to earthworms. 

Tt must not be understood that in a state of nature the decomposi- 
tion of leaves is always so simple and uniform a process as has been 
described, or that it always results in the formation of an alkaline 
leafmold. The chief factors that contribute to the acceleration of 
leaf decay have already been enumerated, but there are other condi- 
tions of nature that obstruct and retard this process. Under certain 
conditions the progress of decomposition may be permanently sus- 
pended long before the alkaline stage is reached. The soils thus 
formed, although high in humus like a true leafmold, have an acid 
reaction and a wholly different flora. 

Examples of such suspensions of leaf decay are found in bogs, 
where the deposited vegetation is protected from the organisms of 
decay by submergence in nonalkaline water, and on uplands where 
the soil is derived from sand, sandstone, granite, or schist, in which 
there is not enough lime or other basic material to neutralize the 
acidity of the decaying leaves. 

There is, of course, a supply of lime in the leaves themselves, and 
as a new layer of leaves is added to the soil each year it might be 
expected that there would result an unlimited concentration of lime 
in the surface soil and that all surface soils that supported a growth 
of vegetation would ultimately become alkaline. Such an indefinite 
accumulation of lime is prevented, however, by another factor which 
requires consideration. As soon as each successive layer of leaf 
litter is sufficiently decayed to permit the roots of plants to enter it 
and feed upon it, the lime it contains, together with other mineral 
constituents, begins to be absorbed. This loss of lime from the de- 
caying leaves is sufficient, under many situations in nature, to pre- 
vent the decaying mass from reaching the alkaline stage. Decom- 
position is suspended while the leaf litter is still acid. True leaf- 
mold, with an alkaline reaction, is never formed under such condi- 
tions. The leaf deposit remains permanently acid and such areas 
bear an acid flora. In the vicinity of Washington one often sees hills 
of quartz gravel, wind swept and rain washed, where the soil con- 
tained little lime in the beginning and none could be brought by 
flood waters or by the dust of the atmosphere. Characteristic plants 


FORMATION OF LEAFMOLD—COVILLE. 339 


of such hills are black jack oak (Quercus marilandica), trailing 
arbutus, wild pansy (Viola pedata), azalea, and huckleberry, all 
plants adapted to acute conditions of acidity. If one’s front yard 
happens to coincide with what was once such a spot, let him not 
undertake the herculean task of growing roses and a bluegrass turf. 
Let his lawn be of redtop and his shrubs be azaleas, laurel, and rhodo- 
dendrons. 

Another factor that contributes to the suspension of leaf decom- 
position is the acid leachings from each new deposit of autumn 
leaves. Various acidity determinations show that after lying ex- 
posed to the weather over winter, leaves ordinarily have only one- 
fifth to one-tenth the acidity they possessed when they fell to the 
ground. It has been found experimentally that the leachings from 
fresh leaves will serve to acidulate an underlying soil of moderate 
alkalinity. Unless, therefore, the conditions of a locality are such 
as to effect the decomposition of one year’s leaf fall before the next 
year’s deposit takes place, a permanent acid leaf cover is established. 
In many of the oak forests on the sandy coastal plain eastward from 
Washington there is a permanent accumulation of such material. 
The roots of the trees and undershrubs bind the half-rotted leaves 
into a dense mat. The principal trees are oaks. The principal 
shrubs that make up the dense underbrush belong to the Ericacee 
and related families. There is no mellow leafmold nor any of the 
leafmold plants. 

This kind of mat or turf is of such widespread occurrence, is so 
distinct in its appearance, and so characteristic in the type of 
vegetation it supports that it should have a name of its own, in order 
that it may come to be recognized as one of the important pheno- 
mena of nature. 

Because of its resemblance to bog peat in appearance, structure, 
and chemical composition, and because it supports a type of vege- 
tation similar to that of bog peat it has been proposed to adopt for 
it the name upland peat. As defined in an earlier publication,? 
upland peat is “a nonpaludose deposit of organic matter, chiefly 
leaves, in a condition of suspended and imperfect decomposition and 
still showing its original leaf structure, the suspension of decompo- 
sition being due to the development and maintenance of an acid con- 
dition which is inimical to the growth of the microorganisms of 
decay.” 

Upland peat would have become leafmold had not the orderly 
normal course of leaf decomposition been suspended and conditions 
of acidity established which rendered the further progress of that 
decomposition impossible. 


(cove, ar he Experiments in blueberry culture, Bulletin 198, Bureau of Plant 
Industry, U. 5 eeoetisent of Agriculture. : ; i oF gary 


340 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913, 


The rate at which leaves decay is greatly influenced by tempera- 
ture. In the cooler northern latitudes and at high elevations in 
lower latitudes the rate of decay is slower and the formation of 
upland peat is more general than in warmer climates. Except on 
calcareous soils the higher Appalachian peaks, from 4,000 to 6,000 
feet, bear an almost continuous layer of upland peat, from a few 
inches to a foot or more in depth. Their great rhododendron 
thickets are rooted in deep beds of upland peat. The spruce forests 
of the higher New England mountains lay down a similar formation. 

In the treeless West the decay of leaves where it is not actually 
suspended by dryness is rapid and complete. At the higher eleva- 
tions, however, where the land begins to be timbered the organic 
matter does not fully decay, and in the heavily timbered areas the 
deposit of upland peat often becomes characteristically deep: and 
continuous. In fighting creeping fires in the yellow pine forests at 
the lower elevations the favorite and most effective tool is the rake, 
which parts the light leaf litter and puts a stop to the progress of 
the flames. But in the dense fir and spruce timber the forest ranger’s 
chief tools are the spade and the mattock, with which he must cut 
through the thick layer of dry peat to the mineral soil beneath if he 
is to effectually combat a slowly creeping fire. 

So strong is the tendency to the formation of peat under the low 
temperatures and heavy precipitation of the high mountains that 
even on limestone soils a superficial layer of upland peat is sometimes 
accumulated. Such a condition exists on innumerable areas at an 
elevation of about 10,000 feet in the Manti National Forest of Utah. 
On the basaltic plateau of extreme northeastern Oregon, where the 
soil is naturally alkaline in reaction the lodgepole pine and Douglas 
fir forests at elevations of 5,000 feet and over lay down a continuous 
bed of peat which supports a characteristic acid flora. A quantita- 
tive test of one of the acid flora soils of this region, at an elevation 
of 8,000 feet, showed the customary high acidity at the surface, and 
successively lower degrees of acidity underneath, until at the depth 
of 5 feet, at the surface of the basaltic rock, the reaction was neutral. 

The group of plants that forms the best index to the acid char- 
acter of a soil is the family Ericacee, and the related families 
Vacciniacee and Pyrolacee. When these occur in vigorous growth 
on a calcareous soil or among calcareous rocks, as is sometimes 
reported, one may expect to find, as the speaker in his own experience 
has always found, that a layer of upland peat has been formed 
above the calcareous substratum and that in this superficial layer the 
roots of the plants find their nourishment, really in an acid medium, 
notwithstanding the alkalinity beneath. 

Continued observations on the association of certain types of 
wild plants with acid and nonacid soils, supported by cultural experi- 


FORMATION OF LEAFMOLD—COVILLE. 341 


ments, are in all respects confirmatory of the theory that soil acidity 
is one of the most influential factors in plant distribution and plant 
ecology. 

The relation of leafmold to the existence of acid or nonacid soil 
conditions may now be viewed with appreciative recognition. If the 
conditions in any area are such that the decay of leaves follows 
the uninterrupted course that leads to the formation of leafmold a 
state of soil alkalinity is reached, with all the resultant effects on 
the growth and distribution of the native vegetation. If, on the 
other hand, the conditions are such that the course of decay is 
diverted into the channel that ends in the formation of peat, a con- 
dition of permanent acidity is indicated, with the accompaniment of 
all those peculiar plant phenomena which are characteristic of such 
a state. 

It is perhaps desirable to call attention here to the fact that while 
partially decomposed vegetation appears to be the chief source of 
soil acidity, there are mineral constituents of the soil, of wide dis- 
tribution and great abundance, which are also acid in reaction. The 
acidity of which we hear so much in agricultural writings as char- 
acteristic of soils worn out by long years of careless farming is 
doubtless due in large part to a natural mineral acidity unsheathed 
by the removal of the lime that once neutralized it, for, like the 
leaves of trees, many of the crops of agriculture are heavy with lime 
and their uncompensated removal year after year has its inevitable 
cumulative result. 

The speaker hopes that he does not overstep the proper bounds of 
this address if he calls attention to conditions in bog deposits which 
almost exactly parallel the two types of terrestial organic formation, 
leafmold and upland peat. In bogs with alkaline waters, as, for 
example, those underlain by marl, a condition of permanent acidity 
is not maintained in the lower strata of the deposit. As far upward 
as the alkaline waters penetrate, the antiseptic acids are not present, 
decay continues, and the resulting formation is not peat, but a plastic 
fine-grained black material that may best, perhaps, be designated by 
that much misused term, muck. Muck corresponds in bog deposits to 
leafmold in upland deposits, contrasting with bog peat as leafmold 
contrasts with upland peat. 

We may follow this idea one step further. Coal is petrified peat. 
As the purest peats are not formed in alkaline waters, it can not be 
expected that the best coal will be found in situations indicative of 
alkaline conditions. If coal is found immediately overlying beds of 
marl or limestone it is to be expected that such coal will be of an 
impure type, corresponding in origin to muck. The speaker takes 
the liberty of suggesting to his geological friends that in reconstruct- 
ing in theory the climatic and other conditions under which the 


342 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


various kinds of coal were deposited they may safely hypothesize 
that the purer coals were laid down in waters that were acid. 

Allusion has been made to the peculiar characteristics of plants 
that inhabit peat. Among these peculiarities perhaps none is more 
remarkable than the presence of mycorhizal fungi on the roots of 
many, perhaps most, peat-loving plants. It is known that peat is 
very poorly supplied with nitrogen in the form of nitrates, which 
most plants of alkaline soils appear to require. Organic nitrogen, 
however, is abundant in peat, and there is very strong evidence that 
these mycorhizal fungi take up this organic nitrogen, and probably 
atmospheric nitrogen also, and transfer it in some acceptable form 
to the plants in whose roots they live. Unfortunately, the work of 
botanists on these fungi has been confined largely to the determina- 
tion of the mere anatomical fact of their occurrence on the roots or 
in certain of the root cells, with descriptions of their size and con- 
figuration. Little attention has been paid to the isolation of the 
fungi, their culture and identification, or to the demonstration of 
their physiological action. The only hypothesis, however, that satis- 
factorily explains what we already know about the mycorhizal fungi 
is that they prevent the nitrogen starvation of peat-inhabiting plants. 
It is well known that certain peat-bog plants, as, for example, sundew 
(Drosera), trap insects, digest them, and assimilate their nitrogen. 
It is to be hoped that within a few years we shall be equally well 
informed about the function of the mycorhizal fungi. But even now 
we may speak of their probable function with confidence. 

The mycorhizal fungi are known to occur on most of the trees that 
inhabit acid situations, for example, chestnut, beech, oaks, and coni- 
fers. The ordinary hillside pasture in New England is a mycorhizal 
cosmos. The club mosses have them, the sweet fern (Comptonia), 
the blueberries, the ferns, the orchids. In our sandy pine and oak 
woods about Washington almost all the vegetation possesses myco- 
rhizal fungi. One comes to think of the giant oaks as dependent on 
these minute organisms. 

Were Solomon to write a new edition of the Proverbs to-day I am 
sure that he would tell us ‘There be four things which are little 
upon the earth, but they are exceeding strong,” and that among the 
four he would include “ The little brothers of the forest, they seek 
not the light but the leafy earth; they prepare for the oak the 
strength that is his.” 

Our American agriculture, derived in the main front the agricul- 
ture of the Mediterranean region, and that in turn from the older 
agriculture of Persia, is chiefly made up of plants that thrive best in 
alkaline or neutral soils. Although many of our soils in the eastern 
United States are naturally acid, we try with only indifferent success 
to grow in them these alkaline plants of southern Europe and the 


FORMATION OF LEAFMOLD—COVILLE. 343 


East. Although some of our agricultural plants are tolerant of 
acidity, our agriculturalists have not yet recognized the possibility 
of building up for acid soils a special agriculture in which all the 
crops are acid-tolerant. We may yet, perhaps, utilize for agricul- 
tural purposes even the sandy acid lands of the coastal plain instead 
of turning them over as we now do to the lank huckleberry picker, 
_whose lonesome garden is all that he is able to reclaim by present 
methods from the imaginary wilderness that surrounds him. Yet 
these lands contain all sorts of delicious native fruits, and a natural 
vegetation rich and luxuriant after its own manner. 

Had our agriculture originated not in the alkaline soils of the 
Orient, but among the aboriginal peoples of the bogs of Scotland, or 
of the sandy pine barrens of our Atlantic Coastal Plain, we should 
have entirely different ideas of soil fertility from those we now pos- 
sess. If our cultivated fruits were large and otherwise improved 
forms of the blueberry, the service berry (Amelanchier), the thorn- 
apple (Crataegus), and the beach plum (Prunus maritima), if our 
only grains were rye and buckwheat, and our only hay redtop and 
vetch, and if our root crops consisted of potatoes and carrots only, 
our high-priced agricultural lands would be the light sandy acid soils 
and the drained bogs, while our deep limestone soils would be con- 
demned to use for the pasturage of cattle and of sheep. 

Thus far man has devoted himself largely to the utilization of the 
plants of the leafmold, which have gathered up for him the wealth 
of theearth. Let him now, I say, turn his attention also to the plants 
of the peat and try whether they will not yield to him in increased 
measure the luxuriance of foliage and of fruit that they have always 
yielded without assistance to nature herself. 


THE DEVELOPMENT OF ORCHID CULTIVATION AND 
ITS BEARING UPON EVOLUTIONARY THEORIES.' 


By J. COSTANTIN. 


When crowds throng our horticultural exhibitions they are struck 
chiefly by the brilliant splendor of color, the rich variety of forms, 
and the strange transformations produced in the vegetable kingdom 
by the art of the plant breeder; but they are often incapable of appre- 
ciating the true importance of all the wonders displayed before their 
gaze. Even a philosopher who had a profound knowledge of the 
affairs of nature would find, in a visit to such an exhibition, material 
for reflections of deep import, and the conclusions resulting from his 
inspection would deserve the attention of the public at large and of 
all men who think. 

Unfortunately, the philosopher rarely takes the pains to acquire 
the knowledge possessed by the specialist, and the specialist gen- 
erally concerns himself but little with general theories, with the 
result that all those who seek knowledge remain in ignorance. Let 
us attempt, despite the difficulty of the subject, to assist them in 
their search. 

To render our task less difficult let us limit our attention to the 
most brilliant corner of the exposition, and everyone will understand 
at once that we are to speak of that devoted to the orchids. It is, 
in fact, the section where the visitors are most numerous; it is there 
that they see the most beautiful flowers and sometimes the most 
strange ones, and it is there that we find the part whose significance 
the public understands least. 

What at once strikes anyone who examines the orchids is the 
bizarre aspect of these plants—their slender forms, their thick, 
fleshy leaves, their aerial roots, their bulbous bases, all contrasting with 
the incomparable brilliance of their corollas. Everyone still feels 
something of the sensations, so well described by de Puydt,? which 
were experienced by visitors to the orchid houses long ago when these 


Translation of “Les progrés de la culture des fleurs et leur importance pour les 
theories transformistes,” by J. Costantin, by permission of the editors, from Scientia, 
International Review of Scientific Synthesis, published by Williams & Norgate, London, 
No. 3, 1911. 

2De Puydt, Les Orchidées, p. 16. 

345 


346 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


plants were beginning to be grown in numbers in Europe: “ You 
would enter the house full of orchids with eager curiosity, as though 
it were some shrine where a tangible mystery was to be unfolded. 
The method of growth without soil, the aerial roots, the heavy 
atmosphere, the abnormal leaves, the strange aspect, would grip 
you all at once, and if blossoms were open with their peculiar forms, 
fleshy petals, somber colors, and penetrating perfumes, you stood 
overwhelmed at the display and at the patience of the gardener.” 

What used to cause so much astonishment at the method of growth 
of orchids resulted from a peculiarity of these plants which was then 
little understood, namely, that they are children of the air, or, in 
other words, epiphytes. In Europe we know but little of plants of 
this class, for we have only the lichens and mosses upon the trunks 
of our trees to give us any idea of them. In the warmer regions of 
the globe, on the contrary, this mode of existence is widespread, and 
for many ages the seeds of certain species, embracing sometimes 
almost entire families, like the orchids and bromeliads, have been 
able to solve victoriously the delicate problem of existence imposed 
upon an organism compelled to live and grow upon the branch of a 
tree, exposed to the burning rays of the sun, which strive to scorch it, 
and in great danger of dying from starvation in consequence of lack 
of food to supply its demands. This epiphytic life attracted the 
attention of Osbeck, who collected plants in Asia and Malaysia for 
Linneus in the eighteenth century. He sent the latter a great num- 
ber of curious types, which were all described by the celebrated 
Swedish botanist under the name of Epidendrum, he wishing to de- 
note thus by the generic name the fact that they had the common 
characteristic of growing upon trees. 

A Portuguese missionary, Loureiro, a distinguished botanist who 
studied the flora of Indo-China, was very strongly impressed by the 
habit of growth of Aerides odoratum, which lived “ freely suspended 
in the air with neither food nor any base, either terrestrial or 
aquatic.” In 1812 Loddiges, publishing the first catalogue of orchids 
cultivated in the hothouses of Hackney, England, declared that he 
had received Oncidiwm ensifolium from a traveler returning from 
Montevideo, who had seen the plant flower, deprived of all soil, in 
the cabin he occupied on shipboard. 

Hortictilturists tried from the first to reproduce artificially the 
conditions for aerial life, and it is thus that the celebrated Joseph 
Banks, in 1817, described the first attempts at culture in frames sus- 
pended from the roof of the greenhouse. Treatment of orchids in 
pots with some sort of earth, which had been the method employed 
in the first attempts at cultivation at the end of the eighteenth cen- 
tury, was altogether barbarous and inevitably resulted in the death 


ORCHIDS AND EVOLUTION—COSTANTIN. 347 


of the delicate aerial plant. No one would think of making a fish 
live out of water. How could one expect that a species accustomed 
to a free epiphytic life would accommodate itself without injury to 

a low terrestrial existence ? 

The proper mode of cultivation once found was 3 parfacted little by 
little. For certain types found exclusively in the tops of trees there 
was devised a plan of fastening them to a piece of wood with brass 
wire together with a little moss to furnish permanent moisture. An 
aquatic moss, sphagnum, seemed particularly suited to fill this rdle 
because of its power of imbibing water. It was in 1841 that Paxton 
first mentioned it as having been employed by him in the Duke of 
Devonshire’s greenhouses. It remained to discover the compost com- 
monly employed for most orchids, which consists of an intimate mix- 
ture of sphagnum and fibers of fern roots (peat of the English, 
Osmunda, Polypodium), after these two elements have been finely 
cut, this mixture covering fragments of broken pots used to furnish 
drainage (potsherds placed in the lower part of the receptacles in 
which the plant is put). But all the tropical orchids are not aerial, 
as was soon learned, and when the lady’s-slippers arrived to furnish 
the handsomest ornaments of European greenhouses they were culti- 
vated in pots, for they were terrestrial plants, a little fresh earth 
being added in their case to the compost which suited most orchids.! 

There was no thought of cultivating species accustomed to a tropi- 
eal climate except in very warm greenhouses; and in 1830 Lindley, 
who contributed so much to the progress of the science of orchids, 
insisted upon the necessity of maintaining for cultivated types the 
two factors which characterize equatorial climates—heat and hu- 
midity. It was immediately after this that the technique was per- 
fected which made it possible to obtain in greenhouses an elevated 
temperature along with an atmosphere charged with vapor to the 
point of saturation by frequent sprinkling not only of the plants 
but of the walks, walls, and benches, thus reproducing artificially the 
constant rains, the torrents which descend almost daily upon many 
equatorial countries. 

Unfortunately this method of treatment, which succeeded wonder- 
fully with certain plants, resulted, with many others, in lamentable 
failure. Lindley and other horticulturists in 1830 agreed that all 
tropical plants are accustomed to a uniform climate, but beneath the 

1A recent and important perfection of this method consists in treating differently the 
species which live in calcareous soil and those which shun it. The latter should be 
moistened with rain water if the running water of the region where they are grown 
contains lime (as is usually the case in France) ; and as potsherds for drainage pieces 
of broken flower pots are used. In the case of species preferring calcareous soil, like 
Cypripedium bellatulum, concolor, niveum, Godefroyae, drainage is furnished by pieces of 


mortar; in addition, pieces of calcareous rocks are mixed with the compost, and the 
plants are moistened with ordinary water. 


348 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


Equator it is necessary only to ascend the slopes of a mountain to see 
the climate change. The mountain species of warm regions should 
not be treated like essentially tropical plants that are accustomed ex- 
clusively to elevated temperatures. There are plenty of orchids, and 
not the least beautiful ones, which grow in the neighborhood of snow 
in regions where the thermometer falls to zero. The explorations of 
Skinner in the cordilleras of Guatemala; of Gibson in India, notably 
on Khasia Hill; of Gardner in the Organ Mountains of Brazil; of 
William Lobb in the Peruvian Andes; of Mottley in the mountains of 
Java, gave information almost simultaneously, about 1835, of the 
wonderful flowers which bloom at high altitudes. From this same 
year dates an important discovery by Joseph Cooper, the skilled 
gardener of the Earl of Fitzwilliam, According to him orchids had 
often been cultivated at too high a temperature, and the mistake had 
been made, from fear of cold, of keeping them in air-tight houses; 
thus frequently they had been suffocated, for in the confined atmos- 
phere, charged with carbon dioxide, life became very difficult, and it 
was indeed remarkable that failures had not been more frequent. 
The methods of cultivation recommended by Cooper tended grad- 
ually to classify greenhouses in three categories, according to the 
temperature maintained in them—hothouses, temperate houses, and 
cold houses. The last are to-day graced with plants of the first rank, 
among which must be mentioned first the Odontoglossums, which rival 
Cattleyas in the beauty of their flowers. It was not until 1863 that 
the most remarkable species of the genus, Odontoglossum crispum, 
was introduced. This plant was sent simultaneously by three col- 
lectors who were ardent explorers of the same regions of America— 
Weir, Blunt, and Schlim—who traveled separately, the first for the 
London Horticultural Society, the second for the Englsh horticul- 
turist, Hugo Low, and the third for the Maison Linden, of Belgium. 
This “ steeplechase ” for the introduction of an orchid shows that in 
Europe there was a violent attempt made and a considerable expendi- 
ture of effort upon all sides to add a marvel more to the greenhouses, 

One may conceive from the account of such exertions that the 
growing of orchids had received a great impulse. All the great 
commercial houses at once employed explorers to search the less 
known and least accessible countries for all the rare species, and by 
thousands the orchids began to flow into Europe. Travelers profited 
by the dormant period of the plants during the dry season to remove 
the epiphytes from their supports and ship them in cases, as if they 
were dry or dead objects. The traffic thus inaugurated at the begin- 
ning of the nineteenth century has been continued to the present 
time, and to indicate its importance T need cite only a single figure, 
which is sufficiently eloquent and significant: There are large horti- 


ORCHIDS AND EVOLUTION—COSTANTIN. 349 


cultural establishments in England which import every year from 
one hundred to two hundred thousand plants.’ 

The reader may perhaps ask, when he reads these fantastic figures, 
why so much labor is expended, and he will think that it would be 
much easier to sow the seeds, which can be obtained by the thousands. 
This is exactly what all the horticulturists tried to do in the early 
days of orchid culture, but all their attempts were without result, and 
for a long time the secret of germination was unknown. The seeds 
have peculiar characteristics that are not found in those of other 
plants. They are extremely small, without albumen, inclosed in a 
tegument, and formed of a simple minute mass of similar, undifferen- 
tiated cells. The minuteness of the seeds is compensated for by their 
great number, and a mature capsule contains an enormous number 
of seeds, which are described as scobiform, they being thus compared 
to sawdust. Evidently if it had been known how to make the seeds 
germinate, orchids could have been multiplied in a prodigious fash- 
ion, and they would have become among our commonest plants. That 
they have not become so is because for a long time it was impossible 
to revive life in the seeds. We read in an important work published 
in 1822 by the French botanist Du Petit Thouars, who distinguished 
himself by the study of the orchids of Bourbon and Madagascar: 
“Tt was believed for a long time that the seeds were incapable of the 
first act of vegetation, and it is only a short time since that Dr. Salis- 
bury has observed it in England.” Dr. Salisbury’s discovery seems 
to have been purely accidental, and when other observers attempted 
to repeat his experiment they met with complete failure. Neverthe- 
less, as the nineteenth century went by, examples of germination 
attributable to chance multiplied, but no one knew of any method 
tending to reproduce the phenomenon with certainty. However, 
some keen observer, whose name has remained unknown? to science, 
unless it may be Dominy, who will be mentioned later, noticed that 
the accidental and infrequent germination took place on the compost 
surrounding the mother plant or, better still, on the roots which were 
in the compost but projected more or less completely from it. This 
observation, the result of a lesson taught by nature, was not lost, 
and it was thus that the mysterious method of germination upon the 
base of the mother plant was inaugurated. This strange and unin- 
telligible technique was not published, so we can not honor its in- 
ventor. It evidently remained a trade secret which for a very long 


1 There are regions in South America, notably in the district of Pacho, celebrated for 
the famous Odontoglossuin crispum, where all the Indian population is employed in 
hunting for orchids, small villages furnishing hundreds of these hunters. This intense 
exploitation makes one fear the rapid disappearance of some of the beautiful species. 

2Jt is certainly Neumann (chef des serres du Museum de Paris) in 1844 and Moore in 
Glasnevin (Dublin, Ireland). See Costantin, Les étapes d’une découverte biologique. Les 
hybrides d’Orchidées (Revue scientifique, 29 fevrier, 1915, 257). 


350 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


time was unknown not only to the public, but even to the most skill- 
ful horticulturists: There is every reason to believe, however, that 
it was in the Veitch houses at Chelsea that the methods were per- 
fected which enabled Dominy, who was employed as a gardener in 
that great establishment, to dare undertake a work of long duration 
which was to produce wonderful results. I refer to orchid hybridiza- 
tion. The work of hybridization always occupies the attention of 
horticulturists whenever they introduce a new plant. It has been 
carried on with such great success for the begonias, pelargoniums, 
and chrysanthemums. If up to the middle of the nineteenth century 
they had not undertaken the task with orchids it was only because 
they were rendered powerless by their inability to secure germina- 
tion; and horticultural activity, rendered fruitless, had to exercise 
itself in some other direction to satisfy the admirers of these beauti- 
ful plants. It was thus that the importations took the prodigious 
flight described above, and that the number of cultivated species came 
to be so enormous—from 2,000 to 6,000 in the whole family. No- 
where else in the vegetable kingdom is there another province where 
the exertion has been so prodigious from this point of view. 

After 1850 we enter upon a new era, although at first the change 
was scarcely appreciable. Discoveries were kept concealed and their 
results made their appearance very slowly, so that it was not compre- 
hended at first that horticultural evolution was engaged in new 
directions. Dominy, after he had been initiated by Dr. Harris into 
the very peculiar specializations presented by the sexual mechanism 
of the orchid flower, undertook the first cross-fertilizations. More- 
over, he showed his gratitude much later, in 1869, when the first 
Cypripedium hybrid appeared, for he gave it the name of Cypri- 
pedium Harrisianium. This plant was a very important hybrid, but 
obtained at a comparatively late date. Long before, in October, 
1856, CalanthexDominyi had made its appearance. It was the 
result of crossing Calanthe Masuca with Calanthe furcata. The 
seeds were sown in 1853 and three years were sufficient for the ap- 
pearance of a new plant, for it was indeed a new creation. 

After these widely separated periods, 1856, the date of appearance 
of the first orchid hybrid, and 1869, the date of appearance of the 
first hybrid Cypripedium, an immense task was undertaken by hor- 
ticulturists, and the number of their creations has been multiplying 
in a disquieting fashion. At the present time 600 hybrids have been 
obtained in the genus Cypripedium alone by crossing them with some 
40 species of the Paphiopedilum found exclusively in tropical 
regions of the Old World. Moreover it may be stated that the 


1“A living plant is needed to render sanitary (?) the substratum in which germination 
is to take place.’ Bois, Dictionnaire d’Horticulture. 


ORCHIDS AND EVOLUTION—COSTANTIN. aha: 


number 600 was obtained only by a statistical method which may be 
considered too restrictive, for it was employed by Mr. Rolfe with 
a view to simplifying a study rendered every day more difficult by 
new creations. He has adopted the strict rule of giving only a single 
name, the oldest, to all the crosses between any two species. But 
this rigid rule, which is quite practical for purposes of taxonomic 
study, takes no regard of the fact, which is nevertheless very im- 
portant and well established, that the offspring obtained from the 
same parents at the same period or at successive periods are often 
very different, and especially that if an inverse crossing is made very 
dissimilar hybrids result. The Cypripediums being hermaphrodite, 
either of the species may be taken as father or as mother. If the rule 
of nomenclature just cited is not admitted, it is not 600 but 1,500 
hybrids that must be listed for this single genus. One can under- 
stand how Lindley said, when Calanthe X Dominyi appeared, “ You 
will drive botanists mad.” Never until then had the words of Bailey 
been so true: “The garden has always been the bugbear of the 
botanist.” It must be remembered that the artificial creations thus 
obtained among the orchids, and especially among the lady’s-slippers, 
have characters which must be emphasized, which are different from 
those usually seen in chrysanthemums or roses. The immense number 
of varieties that are known as belonging to these two floral types 
differ from one another by peculiarities which are often infinitesimal, 
sight variations in tints, habit, etc. When examined as a whole in 
an exhibition there is an impression of continuity. It is seen, how- 
ever, that by the accumulation of these slight differences extreme 
types altogether different are obtained. Upon inspection of the 
Cypripedium hybrids the impression is different; the plants that 
have been crossed with one another are so unlike—separated by so 
many diverse characters—that their offspring give the impression 
of autonomous beings which are radically different from anything 
before known and give one the idea of new beings created in every 
part, for whose analogue the whole world might be searched in vain. 
The hybrids thus fashioned by man’s genius have every appearance 
of new species; and by the processes of cultivation and multiplication, 
which consist in dividing the rhizomes, once the being has been 
created by a stroke of a magic wand, we are assured of keeping it 
indefinitely with all the characters which have struck us at the time 
of their first appearance. 

When one of these prodigies is offered in the salesrooms of the 
London auctioneers there is a contest among its fond admirers for 
the possession of a gem hitherto unknown, and it is not unusual to see 
new hybrids sold at absurd prices. For example, Cypripedium 
Thalia was sold for 300 pounds sterling ($1,500) and Cypripedium 


352 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


Germaine Opoix, produced by the skillful chief gardener of the 
Luxembourg, was sold in London for 7,650 francs ($1,530). 

Such high prices are justified by the rarity of the plants, by the 
difficulty of producing them, and by their wonderful beauty. Some- 
times it requires 20 years of effort and cultivation to succeed in ger- 
mination, nurse the seedling with the closest attention, combat all 
the enemies that le in wait for it, protect it from all the dangers 
that threaten it, and bring it to flower. But gradually these rareties 
are brought to light, and in a not far distant future the lovers of the 
Cypripediums, who hitherto have had only some 50 types to choose 
from, will have hundreds or even thousands. The hybrids have the 
very remarkable character, so to speak, of being indefinitely prolific, 
so that by crossing them among themselves their number can be 
increased almost without limit. 

Each grower, in searching to create a new type, pursues an ideal 
which is sometimes realized in a happy fashion. Perfection is not 
obtained at the first stroke, but by successive improvements it is 
finally approximated. Among the most successful creations of M. 
Opoix, chief gardener of the Senate, may be mentioned the off- 
spring of the Luxembourg Oenanthum, which was itself celebrated 
for the gigantic dimensions of its flowers. In spite of its incom- 
parable qualities, this plant was not yet the phenomenon dreamed 
of by the insatiable hybridizer, so he searched for new blood to infuse 
into it. For this he turned to a handsome little Indian Cypripe- 
dium, from the region of Bhatan, the Fairrie Cypripedium, which 
had been introduced into Europe in 1855. This delicate species had 
been lost successively by all the horticulturists who were ignorant 
of the proper treatment to give it and the Luxembourg garden 
was the only establishment which had been able to keep it. From 
this instance of longevity it may be seen that an orchid well 
cared for may be kept almost indefinitely. By crossing this Cypripe- 
dium with the giant Oenanthum there were obtained two prodigies 
among the lady’s-slippers, Germaine Opoix and Gaston Blutel, which 
surpass everything thus far obtained in the splendor of the amply 
spreading labellum and the warm coloring, characters manifestly in- 
herited from Fairrieanum. The influence of the parents is dis- 
played in these hybrids in a striking manner, as in an indefinite 
number of other types, and such authentication gives to this study a 
charm and a profound biological interest. 

The number of new types may be increased, moreover, in the near 
future, in an extraordinary manner, thanks to a discovery of the 
greatest importance which is yet to be mentioned. Despite the won- 
derful results just cited, those who obtained them were ignorant until 
within the last few years of the true reasons for the cultural technique 
they employed. They kmew this was the case from the numerous 


ORCHIDS AND EVOLUTION—COSTANTIN. soe 


failures they experienced. The yield of seeds is always irregular 
and uncertain. Very often, without any apparent cause, successful 
results are obtained in one greenhouse and complete failure in an- 
other. Finally, although hybridizations had given first-class results 
with Cypripediums, Cattleyas, and Laelias, there was a host of 
genera famed for the splendor of their flowers whose seeds could not 
be germinated. Such was the case with the Odontoglossums for a 
long time. It was indispensable to find an explanation of these 
anomalies. 

The riddle is solved to-day and in such a thorough fashion that 
the consequent results for an industry of the first rank will be of 
the highest importance. It was known from the studies of Wahrlich, 
published in 1886, that the roots of orchids invariably contain fungi. 
The fact had been demonstrated long before by Schleiden von Res- 
sek, Prillieux, and other botanists, but no one knew until Wahrlich 
made his investigations that it was a condition existing in 500 repre- 
sentatives taken at random in the orchid family, thus being a pe- 
culiarity nearly universally characteristic of the group. It seemed 
to me* that important consequences must result from this verifica- 
tion, and that the invasion of the roots of these plants by fungi 
must have affected their evolution and been the cause of their pe- 
culiarities of structure and modes of life. The statement, in par- 
ticular, that in all the true holosaprophytes (plants without chloro- 
phyll and bearing fungi in their roots) the seed was undifferentiated, 
led me to affirm that the minuteness of orchid seeds, so marked 
that they are described as scobiform, was one of the remote results 
of the presence of mycorhiza and due in all probability to toxins, 
which, acting at a distance, prevented the development and _ pro- 
duction by the embyro, as in nearly all seeds of a radicle, a hypoco- 
tyl, and cotyledons. 

This new point of view involved unexpected results: the seed 
deprived of fungi must certainly be infected once it was placed in 
the soil and it might be surmised that the failures of horticultur- 
ists in their attempts to germinate seeds resulted from their ignor- 
ance of the peculiarities which have just been set forth concerning 
the biology of the plants. It was reserved for one of my students, 
Mons. Noél Bernard, to gain the credit for the proof that these 
deductions were quite correct. After having worked with the bird’s- 
nest Neottia and tried vainly to germinate the microscopic seeds, 
he had the good fortune upon a botanical excursion to find a cap- 
sule of this plant which was bent toward the ground and had de- 
hisced upon the soil. Its seeds had germinated. Upon studying 
their structure he saw that they were infected by a fungus, in all 


+ Costantin, La nature tropicale (Bibliothéque scientifique internationale, p. 226), 1898. 
44863°—sm 1913——23 


354 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913, 


probability the same as that upon the roots of the parent plant. 
This happy observation shed a ray of light; it explained all the 
failures in cultivation experienced by growers, as well as the reason 
for their success when they placed the seeds about the base of the 
mother plant. 

However, a new method of cultivation which was gaining ground 
in the horticultural world seemed not to substantiate the preceding 
explanation. Instead of placing the seeds at the base of the mother 
plant some gardeners sowed them in earthenware saucers contain- 
ing various substrata, such as sawdust. As they frequently obtained 
successful results they maintained that it could not be a question 
of infection by fungi from the roots, and the explanation given by 
Mons. Noél Bernard which so revolutionized the ideas of horticul- 
turists seemed to them still less admissible, in view of the fact that 
their trials were always fruitless whenever a kind of white growth, 
some mold or fungus, invaded the sawdust amid the fine orchid 
seeds sown there. This unscientific objection was in vain, for on 
making sections of the embryos developed upon the sawdust it was 
found that they were always regularly infected by the fungus, which 
invariably entered in the same manner, by the micropyle (sus- 
pensor), and invaded the cells, producing there tightly rolled balls 
of threads. This irrefutable observation did not completely solve the 
question, for whence came the fungus in this case? This is still an 
unsettled point. The first hypothesis which occurs to one is that 
the fungus is so abundant in the greenhouse that. it infects the saw- 
dust naturally, like the mold in a cheese cellar, whose presence en- 
ables the manufacturer to obtain excellent eames but whose ab- 
sence brings him ruin. Perhaps there is a simpler explanation— 
that the gardener, naturally of a clever and often furtive disposition,’ 
has placed in the substratum fragments of roots which have thus 
infected the seeds with their fungi. The last explanation seems to 
me not at all improbable, because at the conclusion of Bernard’s 
investigation Mons. Denis, an orchid grower of Midi, France, actu- 
ally employed this method and obtained good results. When horti- 
culturists thus employ subterfuges to deceive and throw off the track 
disinterested investigators who are trying to perfect their industry 
they make a mistake, for it is to their best interest to seek the intelli- 
gent aid of science, which can guide their work and be of the great- 
est assitance to them. It too often happens that they conceal mys- 
teriously some trick of the trade, the reason for which they do not 
understand, although it brings them success and may even be the 
foundation of their fortune. It is easily imagined that they pro- 
tect their secret with jealous care, but unhappily secrets can not be 
kept indefinitely. 


ORCHIDS AND EVOLUTION—COSTANTIN. 355 


One of the most skillful propagators of our country, Mons. Maron, 
after the publication of Mons. Bernard’s investigations, said that he 
succeeded as well with his own method as with that recommended by 
the latter, this consisting in inoculating the soil with orchid fungi, 
which he had learned how to separate from the roots and grow in 
pure cultures. This statement does not seem to have great weight 
when it is stated that on sending some orchid fungi to an inexpe- 
rienced amateur, who had never germinated a single orchid, like 
Mons. Magne, with whom I put Mons. Bernard in communication, 
wonderful success was obtained. The intervention of science will 
at least have had the advantage of rendering accessible to many a 
process which previously had been successfully attempted by only 
a few. 

Besides, despite the mastery of their art obtained by certain 
worthy breeders, they still have disappointments, and failures fre- 
quently baffle the most experienced of them, fortune, on the contrary, 
often reserving her smiles for unskilled novices. As long as the 
reasons for the methods they employ are not understood this ought 
not to be surprising. The production of seed is always meager, and, 
above all, irregular. One capsule begins to develop; another not 
until several weeks or even months afterwards. There are a host of 
anomalies and failures in growth for which an explanation should be 
sought. Moreover, there is a convincing example which proves that 
the new methods of cultivation can be a powerful aid to the culti- 
vator; this is the notable success obtained in the case of Phalaenopsis 
Artemise. Seeds of this hybrid, obtained by crossing Phalaenopsis 
amabilis, a variety of Rimstediana, with Phalaenopsis rosea, were 
sent by Mons. Denis to Mons. Bernard before the capsule which con- 
tained them had opened. The latter was able to remove the seeds 
aseptically and place them in a sterilized tube, where no germina- 
tion took place. Upon introducing a pure culture of a fungus, 
Rhizoctonia mucoroides, there was obtained in the tube a splendid 
germination, the seedlings developing with the utmost rapidity and 
regularity, so that at the end of 18 months Mons. Bernard was able 
to remove the seedling and send it to Mons. Denis, who replanted it, 
and in 1908 (less than 3 years after sowing) the plant flowered.t It 
was the first mature plant obtained by the new method, grown with 
a rapidity that even the most skilled growers were unable to attain. 
for Mons. Bernard’s seeding of 18 months had nearly the size of 
those 3 years old which are figured by the Messrs. Veitch in their 
excellent orchid manual. 

So by extracting the fungi from the roots anyone can obtain as 
good and even more rapid germination than that secured by the most 


1 Orchid Review, vol. 17, p. 156, 


356 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


expert growers. Besides, after knowing the reasons for the methods 
employed one may travel farther in the path of progress and attempt 
many germinations that no one has known how to secure until now. 
Tt can thus be foreseen that in the near future the growing of orchids 
will receive a new impetus while the number of successes in cultiva- 
tion will continue to increase, and new hybrids will become more and 
more numerous. At the present time there are signs in the horti- 
cultural world, especially in England and Belgium, that all the recent 
discoveries have been appreciated; we hear of an unexpected number 
of new floral offerings which indicate that the daring of the growers 
is increasing daily. The flowers that are today the queens of fashion 
are the Odontoglossums. The creations obtained from the represent- 
atives of this genus are multiplied every day and the types like the 
Odontiodas (the result of a cross between an Odontoglossum and a 
Cochlioda) are the glory of the exhibitions. One would never sus- 
pect that a venerable science like botany, apparently adapted only 
for the delight of collectors who have a pleasant fancy for gluing 
dry plants on paper, could be capable of affording such assistance to 
an industry so important as that of orchid growing. It could not be 
anticipated that the biology of these plants was so extraordinary. 
They are, in short, plants that are normally diseased, which not only 
accommodate themselves to their parasites but are unable to exist 
without them. It may nevertheless happen that the latter take the 
offensive and then the plant is killed. The struggle must be con- 
tinuous between the fungus and its host, and in certain cases it hap- 
pens that the resistance of the orchid is so strong that the mycorhiza 
is completely digested and nothing remains at the end of this 
violently defensive act but some excreta or the débris of half 
atrophied threads. The reaction of the host under normal condi- 
tion is always severe, and the phagocytose, which functions in a 
regular manner, limits every day the threatened progress of the para- 
site. It may be easily understood that such a struggle affects the 
whole structure of the plant and that the normal characters of 
orchids depend upon it to a large extent. The evolution of the 
attacking organisms is analogous to that of those attacked. The 
fungi separated from a Vanda are not the same as those found in 
an Odontoglossum; they are parasites of the same family, but dis- 
tinct specifically. One is tempted to believe that for each orchid 
there is a corresponding fungus specifically different from all others. 
At present it appears that there is only a small number. Three 
species clearly distinct have been described;? one which inhabits 
the roots of Cypripediums, Cattleyas, and Laelias; another which is 


1 Burgeff admits that in every orchid there is a different species of fungus (Orcheomyces). 
Burgeff. Die Wurzelpilze der Orehideen, Jhre Kultur und ihr Leben in der Pflanze. 
Jena, 1909. 


ORCHIDS AND EVOLUTION—COSTANTIN. 357 


associated with species of Phalaenopsis and Vanda; and a third 
restricted to the Odontoglossums. These fungi, ordinarily parasites, 
can be cultivated away from their usual host upon an artificial 
medium. It is then found that their threads have the property of 
rolling up upon themselves into a ball, so that under artificial con- 
ditions they conduct themselves in the same manner as in the cells 
of the host which they have invaded in the usual fashion. It seems 
probable that here one has to do with a property of acquired 
heredity which enables them to exist independently of the cause 
which has produced them. 

When a Phalaenopsis is inoculated with the fungus from a Cypri- 
pedium, or an Odontoglossum with that of a Vanda, one may have, 
according to the case, a disease which is often of an infectious char- 
acter, or wholly negative results. Very often the foreign fungus pen- 
etrates the seed, provokes the beginning of germination, then devel- 
opment is arrested; afterwards a new infection is produced which is 
this time fatal, and the plant dies. The parasite has regained its 
formidable destructive character, which was evidently its primitive 
condition. It may happen, on the contrary, that the fungus is de- 
feated in the combat; it penetrates the seed, but is completely digested 
and germination does not take place. There is finally another case 
which is of special interest: This is when the parasite and the host 
are adapted to each other, and a new association is formed. If, as 
we have previously suggested, the orchid was partly created by the 
fungus, there is every reason to believe that this change will modify 
the germinative evolution, and abnormal types will be produced. In 
fact, such monstrosities have been secured with a Cymbidium, and 
more successfully with a Vanda. In the latter genus, in place of 
having a plant with a simple stem and of symmetrical growth, there 
was obtained a small body with two, three, four, or even nine 
_branches. Mons. Bernard was able to grow some of these strange little 
plants for several months. He even sent some of them to horticul- 
turists in hope that they might know how to continue their growth 
and bring them to flower. An unfortunate and vexatious accident 
interrupted the attempt. The mistake of a workman caused the 
destruction of the precious plants, and what might have been learned 
from them is still a secret. Still, if the ideas which we have expressed 
are correct, we do not hesitate to believe that if such a product had 
been brought to maturity, it must have given the most unexpected 
results. Horticulturists have known how to obtain extraordinary and 
very interesting types by hybridizing species with one another; but 
it is known that anomalies may be produced in the vegetable kingdom 
otherwise than by crossings. Mons. Blaringhem has shown that vari- 
ous forms of transmission, such as division, torsion, and compression, 
can direct evolution along new paths, and create characters previously 


358 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


unknown which are often inheritable. The experiments of Mons. Ber- 
nard show us that by changing the fungi of orchids one may create 
monstrosities; that is to say, in short, transform the orchid. It may 
be that the change thus brought about will be so profound that the 
creatures thus formed may be unmanageable; but if they can be 
brought to flower and reproduced, in all probability there will be some 
very curious creations. It can be seen that breeders still have a vast 
field to exploit. 

As a sequel to these remarks, some dodanie may be drawn, At 
present too much attention is given to the study of hybrids. The 
Mendelian laws, so long forgotten, and recently brought to light 
again by the work of De Vries, Tschermak, Correns, and Bateson, 
would lead one to believe that the key to the riddle of evolution had 
been found. These laws, it must be stated, are applicable only to 
very simple cases, such as that of two varieties which differ from each 
other by one or a small number of characters. The characters of their 
offspring are then subject to indisputable mathematical laws. They 
do not seem applicable, at least at the present moment, to cases of 
two parent species of an offspring, differing from each other by 
numerous characters. If even these complex cases could be cleared 
up and reconciled with Mendelian principles, the result would be a 
theory that evolution takes place only in the ovule. Can we admit 
that an exterior influence can never cause the appearance of new 
characters? Upon this there can be no division of opinion. All that 
has been set forth above with regard to the orchids pleads a contrary 
case, which is in accordance with the theory set forth by Lamarck, 
the famous disciple of Buffon. 


THE MANUFACTURE OF NITRATES FROM THE ATMOS- 
PHERE.! 


By ERNEST KILBuURN Scort, 
ALM ENSta Oc eg) MEL. Henn: 


{With 3 plates. ] 


Considering that it is only about 10 years ago that the manufac- 
ture of nitrogenous products by electric power was proved to be 
commercially possible, the progress has been remarkable. Indeed, 
this metallurgical development of electric power promises to be even 
more important than electric traction. 

The two main sources of fixed nitrogen are sulphate of ammonia 
from gas works, etc., and sodium nitrate from the country .of Chile. 
Table I gives the sulphate of ammonia produced in this country in 
the years 1906, 1909, and 1910. It will be noticed that the principal 
increases between 1906 and 1910 are, from coke ovens, 115 per cent, 
and from producer-gas plants, 50 per cent; the total increase being 
at the rate of about 26 per cent. 


TABLE I.—Sulphate of ammonia. 


| 1906 1909 1910 
| 
Tons. Tons. Tons. 
(Cid Qu Le ee ape cnmmooseDsoognerobEpe ae 157,160 | 164,276 167,820 
Iron works 21, 284 20, 228 20, 139 
Shale works 1 O34 57,048 59, 113 


Coke ovens 43, 677 82, 886 92, 665 
POUMUCKAPAS PIANUS2 tena 22. oa =/2- Sa aslo eee ees een epee geea teen eea ae 18,736 | 24,705 27, 850 


emrmrermmmet eens 24 TTA) A ALO SLO BREN 8) 289,391 | 349,143 | 367,587 


The regular exportation of nitrate of soda from Chile began in 
1830, and, as will be seen from Table II, it has increased at an ex- 
tremely rapid rate and is now about two and a half million tons per 


annum. 
TABLE II.—Heports of sodium nitrate from Chile. 


| | 
Sab bees | Tons per | ree Tons per 
Years. deere | Years. annie 
a 4 arth | | 
| 
TSG Ae ba gee eee 985 4iNCPOOSE 2426 13 FG BA, MAES ee 1,970, 000 
DNSE TS aE ee OOOO I909! oo a. a a ele. as cin el See ee 2, 108, 600 
ayes eames eee hens oh ke P22 SONG NAOT OSI Be Dae BALL a 2,308, 200 
CUR Ad SR a eon me ane PODONOOOT LOND.) ios 2 oe laa a ees 2,420, 400 
TT Rn ee ho beeen eee 1, 600,000 
| 


+ Reprinted by permission from Journal of the Royal Society of Arts, London, vol. 60, 
No. 3104, May 17, 1912. 


359 


360 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


Against these figures the output of calcium nitrate and calcium 
cyanamide, which are two of the main products of the electric fixation 
of nitrogen processes, seems small. The important thing to notice, 
however, is that electrical processes are now on a sound educa 
footing, ‘and very large extensions of plant have been recently made, 
and are in hand. 

Table III gives particulars of the installations for the manufac- 
ture of calcium nitrate by the direct process of Prof. Birkeland and 
Mr. Sam Eyde. It will be noticed that, although the first experi- 
mental plant was started only nine years ago, already the company 
controlling the Birkeland-Eyde patents have installations aggregat- 
ing 200,000 horsepower at work, and probably by 1916 another 
300,000 horsepower will be at work. All the installations mentioned 
in Table III are in Norway, but installations will no doubt be erected 
in other countries. 


TABLE III.—IJnstallations of the Norwegian Hydroelectric Nitrogen Co. 


Year. Horsepower. Name of installation. 


TAC} hs AS ae a Sete crate 25 | Experimental plant at Frognerkilens. 
TY OE Ea eS eee eee ee 160 | Experimental plant at Ankerlékken. 
RR eee Nee ets eet ciuialalotulcicls\nwlota|s/otie\c cite n'e = « 660 | Arendal. 

TR 2, SOS OES a ae eS 45,000 | First Notodden (Svaelgfos). 

ETO) 2 ae Se Ae ase aia ee 15,000 | Second Notodden (Lienfos). 

ee ee ee aire a onion m= mann 140,000 | First Rjukan installation. 

DS). eae cet UN ee eee anaes 120,000 | Second Rjukan installation. 

Tice em SRE re ator ais Sein Soleo meine cine 70,000 | Vamma. 

TEU Sg Tk ES 2 oe ea 80,000 | Matre 

a oe caw es | 70,000 | Tyin 


The other electrically produced nitrogenous manure, calcium cy- 
anamide, is made by a more indirect method invented by Dr. Franck 
and Dr. Caro, and its manufacture is not confined to Norway. 

Table IV gives the principal installations, and it is of interest to 
note that, although the first one on a commercial scale was erected at 
Piano d’Orto in Italy only 8 years ago, there are works in opera- 
tion and being built which by the end of next year will be making 
calcium cyanamide at the rate of over a quarter of a million tons per 
annum. 

The Nitrogen Fertilizers Co., which owns the Odda & Alby Works, 
works under license from the North-Western Cyanamide Co., which 
company controls this country, Norway and Sweden, Belgium, and 
all the British colonies, protectorates, and dependencies, except Egypt 
and Canada. The Odda factory is now being enlarged and at the 
beginning of next year will be producing 73,000 tons per annum. 

In the United States, the American Cyanamide Co. is about to erect 
a works in Alabama to manufacture 24,000 tons per annum. 


NITRATES FROM ATMOSPHERE—SCOTT. 361 


BIRKELAND-EYDE FURNACE. 


This furnace, invented by Prof. Birkeland and Mr. Sam Eyde, 
of Norway, depends on the inter- 
action of an alternating-current arc 
in a constant magnetic field. The 
furnace, as installed at Notodden, 
consists of a circular sheet-steel 
drum about 8 feet in diameter and 2 
feet wide, lined with refractory fire- 
brick, and having a disklike space 
in the center 64 feet diameter and 
14 inches wide. Air is supplied at 
the center of the furnace by a Root’s 
blower, whilst a channel round the 
periphery of the disk space carries 
off the gases and unoxidized air, as 
shown in figure 1. 


N 
N 
N 
N 
LAN 
NY 
Nj 
Ny 
N 
IN 


ZZ 


Fia. 1. 


TABLE I1V.—Installations for manufacture of calcium cyanamide by the Franck 
and Caro process. 


Output 
Name of company. Place of installation. per annum 
in tons 
| 
Nitrogen Fertilizers Co. (North-Western Cyanamide Co.).-..-.- Odda; Norway os. 15,000 

ID Gio us- 2 Sees Be See er ee ee Alby, Sweden 32 cose 15,000 
Societé Italiana de Prodotti Azotate.............-..-.2-.-..-- Piano d’Orto, Italy......--- 4,000 
Societaé Italiana per il Carburo de Calcio. ...........----------- Terni, italy Reve eRU ERY va ert 15,000 
Societ& Piemontese per il Carburo de Calcio..................- San Marcel, Italy..........- 3,000 
Société Francaise pour les Produits Azotes.........--..------- Martigny, Switzerland... _-. 7,500 

ING. o- se zeded 2 Doge ee eee Notre Dame de Briancon. - .| 7,500 
PAaVERISCHORSiCKSTON \WOLKO oi. 50.2. = tececc-e- oe e- se eebsece Trostberg, Bavaria. -......--- 15,000 
Ost-Deutscher Stickstoffcalf und Chemische Werke. .......-.-. Bromberg, Prussia........-- 2,500 
Aho. (te (SUAS PONEEGI UE STC) gel IE eR ge Knapsack, Germany.....-.- 18,000 
Societ& per l’Utilizzazione della Forze Idrauliche della Dal- | Selenico, Dalmatia.......__- 4,000 

mazia. 

Did. 222 Ae QRS BS IS ge Dugirat, near Almissa. -.--- 80, 000 
sapanescouirocenuProducts Co. 0. ...-..----.s--s---eees-e ees Kinzei, near Osaka........-. | 4,000 
MadbicnweyaAnannoe GO. U8i. Uses. T2Ch he Use seals. Nashville, Tennt 333 so setae 4,000 

in. Eas A ee ee eae Niagara’ 2: 222). SS eee 12,000 


Two electrodes, one of which is shown in figure 2, project into the 
center of the furnace and are approached to within about one-third 
on Pe as inch. They are copper 


+t + —— oc <j tubes, 14 inches diame- 
> x ter and five-eighths inch 
Fl = £, eR —" thick, and have water 


Renewable Tins 7) : 5 
er ical Gall nselater circulation to keep them 


Fig. 2. 
cool. 


Surrounding the points of the electrodes there is a magnetic field 
of about 4,500 lines of force per square centimeter. Alternating cur- 
rent at 5,000 volts and 50 periods per second is supplied to the elec- 
trodes, and direct current flows around the coils to produce the mag- 
netic field. 


362 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


When an arc is struck between the electrodes it is at once deflected 
in a direction perpendicular to the lines of force, and the necessity 
of having alternating current applied to the electrodes will be ap- 
preciated from the fact that with direct current the are would be 
deflected to one side only. As each electrode is alternatively positive 


and negative, the are is projected outward first to one side and then — 


to the other, thus giving a disk of flame about 6 feet in diameter. 
The speed at which the are moves outward is extremely rapid, and 
as the formation of a new arc is practically instantaneous, it appears 
to the eye as a sheet of flame. 

When the extremities of the arc retire along the electrodes the arc 
increases in length, its resistance also increasing, until the tension is 
such that a new arc strikes between the points of the electrodes. The 
resistance of this short arc being smaller, the tension of the electrodes 
suddenly sinks to a point that will not sustain the long are, which is 
thus extinguished. Another arc starts, and so the process goes on. 

An inductive resistance is a very necessary piece of apparatus to 
have in series with the arc, because its self-induction automatically 
effects a displacement of phase according to the currents flowing, 
thus enabling the arc to burn steadily. 

The writer assisted Mr. Howles with some experiments in fixation 
by nitrogen about 13 years ago, and it was then that the necessity of 
having an induction coil in circuit was noted. Without it the are 
could not be maintained steady, but with it the arc was quite steady. 
The experiment was made at Messrs. Johnson and Phillips’s, Old 
Charlton, and a transformer that happened to be handy was used for 
the purpose. 

It should be noted that any furnace working with alternating cur- 
rent has necessarily a considerable phase difference. In other words, 
the power factor is low, and therefore, in estimating the sizes of 
dynamos and cables, due allowance has to be made. This, of course, 
raises the cost of electric energy. For ordinary power supply a 
power factor of 0.85 is quite usual, but with fixation of nitrogen fur- 
naces the power factor is only about 0.6. 

A curious feature of the arc flame is that it is not quite concentric. 
When looked at through colored glasses the extremities of the are 
appear like glowing spots upon the sides of the electrodes; on the 
positive electrode they are small and fairly close together, whilst on 
the negative electrode they are larger and farther apart. The reason 
for these spots appears to be that the arcs solder themselves, so to 
speak, to the electrodes, and the magnetic lines of forée make the 
extremities of the arcs move along in leaps. For some reason not yet 
explained, the extremities of the arc cling more closely to the negative 
than to the positive electrode, and therefore the flame extends farther 


SE 


NITRATES FROM ATMOSPHERE—SCOTT. 363 


along the positive electrode than along the negative, as shown in 


figure 3. 

When the flame 
is burning it emits 
a loud noise, from 
which the furnace 
attendant can 
judge of the num- 
ber of arcs formed 
per second. The 
electrodes are 
changed and re- 
paired every 300 
hours, and the fire- 
proof lining every 
fourth to sixth 


Jnduchve 
Resistance 


YOG  @ : 
5200 Wolrs 


Ad 


month. 


The temperature of the flame is about 3,500° C., and the 


temperature of the escaping gases is between 800° and 1,000°. 


furnace. 


g 


IG 


SQ. Fav a 09 


SI). 'W 


NS 


MG 06d Kp 


CIM G'' "nn 


OE 


Eke, 


SS 


TO IY SALT TT TA 


ee eee 


S 


SVG 


Fig. 4, 


reaches the are. 


Each of the furnaces at Notodden takes 600 kilo- 
watts, and the furnaces at the Rjukan works each 
take 3,000 kilowatts. 


SCHONHERR FURNACE. 


This furnace was invented by Dr. Schonherr, of 
the Badische Anilin und Soda Fabrik of Germany. 
As installed at Christiansand, it consists of a long 
iron tube fixed vertically, through the center of 
which an are 16 feet long is maintained. Alter- 
nating current at 4,200 volts, 50 periods, is used, 
and each furnace takes 600 horsepower. Air blown 
through this tube with a whirling motion keeps the 
arc in the center. The electrode at the bottom 
consists of an iron rod which passes through a 
copper water-cooled tube. The iron rod is pushed 
upwards, as it burns away to ferric oxide, and fresh 
rods are screwed on as required, so that the process 
does not stop. At the top of the tube there is a 
water cooler, and it is inside here that the are ends 
by striking across from the center to the side of the 
tube. 

As wilk be seen from the arrows in figure 4, the 
incoming air passes through annular tubes, on each 
side of which there are the hot gases from the 


The air is thus heated to about 500° C. before it 


After passing through the arc, where some of it 


364 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


is heated to about 3,000° C., it reaches the water cooler, where its 
temperature is then suddenly reduced. At this point there is a rapid 
mixing of the highly heated nitric oxide next to the are, with the 
cooler air that is whirling past, and the gas becomes permanently 
fixed. The nitric oxide and air leave the top of the cooler at about 
1,200° C., and pass away to a gas flue, common to all the furnaces, 
where the temperature is reduced to about 850° C. 

The plant at Christiansand is entirely occupied in making sodium 
nitrite for the production of aniline dyes, etc. Previously sodium 
nitrite had been made by the reduction of Chile nitrate with lead, 
but this method of production has now practically ceased. 

The nitrite made from the nitrogen of the air is so satisfactory 
and so cheap, compared with the old methods, that now practically the 
whole supply of the world, valued at £160,000 ($800,000), is obtained 
by electricity. 

In order to produce it the temperature of the gases is not allowed 
to fall below 300° C., and this keeps the nitric oxide about equal 
to the nitrogen peroxide. This mixture behaves as if it were nitrogen 
trioxide N,O,, and it is absorbed completely by being brought into 
contact with sodium hydroxide according to the following formula— 


NO+NO,+2NaQOH=H,0+2NaNO (sodium nitrite). 
CALCIUM NITRATE. 


As earried out at Notodden, the method of making calcium nitrate 
is as follows: The nitric oxide gas and air pass from each furnace 
into two fireproof-lined gas-collecting pipes, about 6 feet in diameter, 
lined with fire brick. These pipes convey the gas to four steam 
boilers, the heat given off by the gases being used to raise steam for 
concentrating the products and for driving the air compressors for 
pumping acids, soda, etc. The gases then go through tubes in the 
evaporating tanks, after which the temperature is down to about 
250° ©. The temperature is lowered still further, to 50° C., by 
passing it through a number of aluminium tubes over which cold 
water is flowing. The gas then enters the oxidation tanks, which are 
large vertical iron cylinders, having acid-proof linings. Here it 
continues to take up oxygen to form nitrogen peroxide, the per- 
centages being now about 98 per cent air and 2 per cent nitrogen 
peroxide. 

The nitrogen peroxide is brought into contact with water to form 
nitric acid, in two series of four towers. These towers are built of 
granite and are filled with broken quartz, this substance and the 
granite being chosen because they are not affected by acids. Each 
tower measures 2 meters square by 10 meters high, and it has been 
found that they will give an absorption of 3.3. kilograms of nitric 
acid per cubic meter of space per 24 hours. 


NITRATES FROM ATMOSPHERE—SCOTT. 365 


The liquid trickles down through the quartz, and meeting the 
nitrogen peroxide gas, combines with it. The liquid moves from 
tower to tower in the opposite direction to the gas. Thus the fresh 
water enters at top of the fourth tower, it flows down through the 
interstices between the pieces of quartz and falls into a granite tank. 
From there it is pumped by compressed air to the top of the third 
tower, down which it trickles into another tank, and from which it is 
pumped to the top of the second tower, and so on. 

When the liquid reaches the bottom of the first tower it contains 
about 40 per cent nitric acid. 

Recently some very remarkable results have been obtained by im- 
proving the material with which these towers are filled. By using 
special forms of earthenware instead of quartz, the towers can be 
reduced jn size considerably, and as the cost of the towers is usually 
about four times the cost of the filling material; this means much 
cheaper towers. 

The chemical equations are as follows: 

In the electric furnace from 3,000° C. down to 1,000° C., nitric 
oxide, a colorless gas, is formed— 


N,+0,=2NO (nitric oxide). 
In the oxidation chambers, etc., from 500° C. down to 50° C., the 
red-brown gas nitrogen peroxide is formed— 
2NO+0,=2NO, (nitrogen peroxide). 
In the four acid absorption towers the nitrogen peroxide combines 
with water to form nitric acid and nitrous acid— 
2NO,+H,O=HNO+HNO, (nitrous acid). 


As the nitrous acid is unstable in an aqueous solution it gives nitric 
acid and nitric oxide— 


3HNO,+H,O=HNO,+2NO (nitric oxide). 


The nitric oxide then combines with more oxygen to form again 
nitrogen peroxide, and the above equations are repeated— 


2NO+0,=2NO, (nitrogen peroxide). 


What is left of the nitrogen peroxide and nitric oxide gases pass 
to the fifth tower, when they meet sodium hydroxide to form sodium 
nitrite— 

NO,+NO+2Na0H=H,0+2NaNO (sodium nitrite). 

The nitric acid of 40 per cent solution is sprayed onto calcium 
carbonate, and the carbon dioxide gas is driven off, leaving calcium 
nitrate— 


2HNO,+CaCO,=CO,+H,0-+Ca(NO,),. 


Sanne 


366 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


The solution is then pumped into solidification pans, under which 
cold air is circulated to accelerate cooling, and the nitrate of lime 
stiffens into a brittle, crystalline mass. This is broken up into lumps, 
which pass to ball crushing mills, where it is reduced to a granular 
state. The coarse powder is then raised by an elevator into a hopper, 
from the bottom of which it falls into barrels which hold 2 hundred- 
weight. These barrels are lined with paper to guard against damp. 
The analysis of the commercial calcium nitrate, Norwegian saltpeter, 
or nitrate of lime as it is variously cailed, is given in Table V. 


TABLE V. 

Element. Symbol. | Per cent. | Element. Symbol. | Per cent. 
Calenmiomide sito... CaOle | 25. 83 || Magnesium oxide........-..-- MgO.... 0.41 
INGTTOROT ce uege oe Pk IN Aero ey | 12.47 || Aluminium trioxide........... AljOz... 0. 71 
WWALRE Soe a5 cere mrcreneien, whi 13 Jat Os l 23.83 |} Residue insoluble in hydro- 


Carbon dioxide................ Cowes | 0.52 || chloric acid..i...-. 1.) seg050 0.51 


With the Birkeland-Eyde process, 1 kilowatt-year gives 500 to 
550 kilograms of nitric acid, or 853 to 938 kilograms of nitrate of 
lime. The latter usually contains 13 per cent of nitrogen, which cor- 
responds to 111 to 122 kilograms of combined nitrogen. It is 
guaranteed to contain 12? per cent of nitrogen. 

The best result at Notodden has been 900 kilograms of nitric acid 
per kilowatt-year measured at the arc terminals and allowing for 
100 per cent nitric acid. 

The percentages of nitrogen and comparative prices of the various 
artificial manures are about as given in Table VI. 


TABLE VI. 
3 i} uf SD © 

| Content Price 

of per 

| nitrogen. ton. 
: Per cent.| £. 8. d. 
Sim pPaperOremnmMOMia ATOM PASWOLES ooo ie fe oe eae wien ale aici wie © 4) mm efor meen ee 19..75)) 137) 20) 00 
INNDEATOIONSOMAMLOMN CNG ene ors scc2 slo cee bee eel elee ee 15.50; 9 15 0 
Nitrate Onlmermaceiby electricity ... 2... weep ene ee en = 3 12. 75. |.08 1 .k0na0 
Calcium cyanamide made by electricity 18.00;}10 0 0 


THEORY OF FIXATION. 


The problem is to raise the temperature as quickly as possible to 
over the igniting point of nitrogen and oxygen and then immediately 
to cool the fixed gas and draw it off. The temperature of the burn- 


ing nitrogen and oxygen flame is lower than the igniting point by. 


about 200° C. There must be a “ hot-cold zone”—that is to say, a 
zone in which at one part the temperature is enormously high, and 
at another part the temperature is as low as possible. 


NITRATES FROM ATMOSPHERE—SCOTT, 367 


As the electric arc gives in an easy manner the temperature above 
ignition point it is principally used. Some experimenters contend, 
however, that if by using a flame of carbon monoxide or a sprayed 
oil flame of carbohydrates a temperature near that of the electric 
are was reached, then the results would be equally satisfactory. They 
point out that the ignition of nitrogen and oxygen takes places at 
1,800° C., and as the temperature of the electric arc is well over 
2,000° C., it is really much lighter than is necessary. 

It is not at all certain, however, that the effect is merely due to 
temperature. A more probable theory is that some of the oxygen is 
first formed into ozone and that farther on in the arc the extra atom 
of oxygen splits off, and being in a nascent condition readily com- 
bines with the nitrogen. In this connection it is interesting to note 
that Sir. J. J. Thompson has demonstrated that under certain con- 
ditions N, does exist. Is it possible that O, and N, are first formed 
and then the nascent atoms combine ? 

It is known that nitric acid is formed on the windings of high- 
tension alternators and this is apparently due to silent discharge at 
normal temperature and pressure. 

Mr. Cramp, whose investigations into this subject deserve to be 
better known, says, in a communication to the writer, that he is quite 
certain that ozone does enter into the problem, and that if the air 
charged into the furnace had ozone mixed with it, there would be 
an increased yield of fixed gas. A very small amount of ozone is 
likely to have a considerable effect; 12 parts in 1,000,000 is a high 
percentage. In the Central London Railway tube the percentage is 
only 1 part in 1,000,000, and yet the ozone is so powerful that its 
characteristic odor is quite noticeable. 

The photograph (pl. 1) shows that with alternating current the 
arc concentrates on one side, and the fact that ozone is a conductor 
may be partly or wholly responsible for this. 

On several occasions it has been suggested that the yield would 
be higher if nitrogen and oxygen were passed through the furnace 
in combining proportions instead of in proportions in which they 
exist in air. Muthman says, however, that the proper proportions 
are one of nitrogen to two of oxygen, and his explanation is that as 
NO, is easiest to form it is, therefore, formed first. 

Several methods of fixing nitrogen have been proposed which do 
not depend on electric power. The principal one is due to Prof. 
Haber, and it is of special interest just now, because the powerful 
German company, the Badische Anilin und Soda Fabrik, is experi- 
menting with it. 

The gases nitrogen and hydrogen in the proportions for forming 
into ammonia are brought together under a pressure of 175 atmos- 
pheres, and they are said to combine in the presence of a catalyser, 
such as osmium or uranium. 


368 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913, 
THE RJUKANFOS INSTALLATION. 


The Rjukan installation is situated in Vestfjorddalen, East Tele- 
marken. The saltpeter factories are situated at Saaheim and the 
hydroelectric power plant on the Maane River, half a kilometer 
away. ‘The power installation, utilizes part of the well-known 
“ Rjukanfos,” and has a working head of some 274 meters and a dis- 
charge of water of 47 cubic meters per second. The total electrical 
energy in the power station is about 140,000 horsepower, divided into 
10 units, each of 14,450 horsepower. Each unit is, however, capable 
of producing 16,500 horsepower, and they are thus the largest hydro- 
electric units which have yet been constructed. The generators give 
a pressure of 10,000 volts, and the total energy is transferred to the 
nitrate of lime factory through a transmission line, for the most part 
made of bare aluminium conductors. 

In the factory some of the furnaces are of the Schonherr construc- 
tion (of the Badische Anilin und Soda Fabrik), each of 1,000 kilo- 
watts. They are 23 feet long and require 40,000 cubic feet of air per 
hour. The other furnaces are of Birkeland-Eyde’s construction, each 
of 3,000 kilowatts. (See pl. 2.) 

The gases from the various furnaces have a temperature of about 
800° C. when leaving, and they are led through brick-lined iron 
pipes to the coolers, which are mounted in a separate house. From 
there the gas goes to the absorption towers. These towers are ar- 
ranged on the same system as at Notodden, namely, acid absorption 
for the greater part of the gases and alkali ones for the rest. 

The annual production will amount to 70,000 tons of nitrate of 
lime and 8,000 tons of nitrite. It will be exported in wooden kegs, 
exactly as at Notodden. 

Regarding the question of the type of furnace, Mr. Eyde wrote on 
February 10 last, saying: 

The results now at hand from the trial management are not sufficient to 
entitle us to judge which of the two systems—the Badische or the Birkeland- 
Hyde system—is the more profitable one. For the present it may be declared 
that the proceeds by both systems very likely will turn out to be approximately 
the same. As you will note, however, from the above-mentioned figures, the 
Birkeland-Eyde furnaces may be constructed for a considerably greater energy 
than the other type. 

A second power plant is now under construction at Rjukan, intended for the 
installation of some 120,000 horsepower, which will likewise be used for the 
manufacture of nitrate of lime. 

Our company is further constructing a third power installation, Vamma, on 
the Glommen River, by which will be produced 70,000 horsepower, of which 
50,000 horsepower will be utilized for the manufacture of nitrate of lime. In- 


cluding the factory at Notodden, we will thus in a short time utilize in all 
370,000 horsepower for the manufacture of nitrate of lime. 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Scott. PLATE 1. 


Arc FLAME SHOWING CONCENTRATION ON ONE ELECTRODE WHEN WORKING WITH 
ALTERNATE CURRENT. 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Scott. PLATE 2. 


By 


FiG. 1.—RJUKAN SALTPETER FACTORY. 
View of furnace room showing some of the Schonherr furnaces. 


FiG. 2.—RJUKAN SALTPETER FACTORY. 
View of furnace room showing twelve of the Birkeland-Eyde furnaces. 


NITRATES FROM ATMOSPHERE—SCOTT. 869 


It would appear that the Birkeland-Eyde furnace is preferred to 
the Schonherr, because it is more compact and cheaper to build. The 
Schonherr furnace has to be built very high in order to increase its 
output, and this introduces constructional difficulties; also the diffi- 
culty of keeping the arc from striking into the side of the tube. 

The present plant consists of 10 generator turbines of 14,450 horse- 
power each, 5 of which were constructed by J. M. Voith, of Heiden- 
heim, 5 by Escher Wyss & Co., of Zurich, and 1 exciter turbine of 
1,000 horsepower by Kriierner Brug, of Christiania. The 3-phase 
electrical generators coupled to the Voith turbines were made by 
the Allminna Svenska, of Visteras, Sweden, and those driven by 
the Escher Wyss turbines were supplied by Brown, Boveri & Co., of 
Baden. The whole of the switchboard equipment was installed by 
the Westinghouse Co. 

The turbines are fed by individual pipe lines of 1,250 millimeters 
inside diameter at the top end and 1,000 millimeters inside diameter 
at the bottom end. The length of each pipe is 720 meters (2,360 feet) ; 
the upper 300 meters consist of riveted pipes. and the longer lower 
part for higher pressure consists of welded pipes. The riveted 
pipes were supplied by Frederikstad’s mek. Verksted, Frederikstad, 
Norway, and the welded pipes by Actiengesellschaft Ferrum, Zawod- 
zie near Kattowitz, Germany. The supply and laying out of all of 
the pressure pipe lines was done under the superintendence and on 
the responsibility of J. M. Voith. 

Each turbine is designed to work with a net head of 274 meters, 
and a normal output of 13,000 horsepower, when running at a speed 
of 250 revolutions per minute. The output may be increased to 
14,450 horsepower. 

The main sluice valve of 1,000 millimeters is fitted on a taper con- 
necting pipe and the valve is operated by hydraulic pressure by means 
of a cylinder with piston and a distributing valve. The piston rod 
carries a relay which connects it to the valve, thus preventing the 
latter opening or closing too quickly and insuring perfect safety. 
The distributing piston is designed and dimensioned to allow the 
valve being opened or closed under full pressure. This valve is 
provided, however, with a by-pass valve 150 millimeters inside 
diameter. 

The turbines are provided with twin Pelton wheels, each of which 
is driven by two nozzles. In the Escher Wyss turbine the lower jet 
does not strike the buckets until the latter have cleared the upper 
jet. Each of the runner wheels, which are mounted 1,800 millimeters 
apart on a horizontal steel shaft, consists of a separate hub of cast 
steel, and on the circumference of each 22 cast-steel buckets are 
fastened. The buckets are held by means of two rings, which pro- 


44862°—sm 1918——24 


370 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913, 


vide that there shall not be any stress on the bolts, and yet prevent 
the buckets getting loose. 

Bearings.—The turbine shaft, which is of Siemens Martin steel, 
is supported by two ring-lubricated bearings of 380 millimeters diam- 
eter, and its diameter is increased to 470 and 480 millimeters where the 
runner wheels are mounted. A forged-on flange coupling transmits 
the whole power of the turbine to the generator shaft. In addition to 
lubricating rings, each bearing is provided with a separate pump for 
the circulation of the oil, and this pump is driven by the turbine 
shaft. It draws the warm oil from the bearings, passes it through a 
coil situated in the discharge pit of the turbine, and then pumps the 
oil through a filter to the main shaft again. This device greatly in- 
ereases the safe running. The bearings have to withstand the weight 
of the shaft and runners, and also the thrust due to the water jets. 
They are supported by a strong frame, which is grouted into the 
foundations and held fast by anchor bolts. 

Casing.—On the same side as the distributing pipe there is a 
strong frontal iron plate, to which the inlet bend and distributing 
piping are fastened. The upper half of the casing is made of wrought 
iron 10 millimeters thick, in two parts bolted to the foundation 
frame and to the frontal plate at the center line. When the run- 
ner wheel has to be taken out for repairs the upper part of the 
casing is lifted off. At the side of the casing where the shaft comes 
through it, deflector rings and water-splash guards prevent any 
water escaping from the casing. For the purpose of inspecting the 
buckets and nozzles a pit is provided in the foundations by means 
of which it is possible to descend into the turbine chamber for that 
purpose. 

The turbine-chamber walls are covered with iron plates from the 
foundation frame up to the ceiling of the tailrace, with a view to 
protect them from erosion as well as to prevent any leakages in 
the air ducts between the turbines. 

Nozzles.—The largest diameter of the water jet when the nozzle 
is fully opened is about 150 millimeters. In order to reduce the regu- 
lating power the needle rod is provided with a balancing piston 
acting in opposite direction to two buffer springs. The latter have, 
the tendency to close the needle. The power resulting from the 
closing energy of the needle and springs and the opening energy of 
the piston is so calculated that the needle is always balanced, no 
matter what the opening is. The turbine is regulated by simulta- 
neously adjusting the four nozzles, which are connected to each other 
by means of rods and levers. <A rod and lever connects the regu- 
lating shaft to the main shaft of the universal oil-pressure governor. 

Guarantees.—For the speed governor and pressure regulator, as 
well as for the efficiency of the turbines, the following guarantees 


—— 


NITRATES FROM ATMOSPHERE—SCOTT. 371 


were given. The turbines were designed to develop a maximum of 
14,450 horsepower when working with a net head of 274 meters and 
running at 250 revolutions per minute. The efficiency was to be 76 
per cent when the quantity of water used was 5,200 liters per second. 
When running under the same conditions of speed and pressure and 
developing normally 13,000 horsepower, the efficiency was to be 78 
per cent and the water used 4,650 liters per second. When load was 
suddenly thrown off to the extent of 25, 50, and 100 per cent, the 
variations of speed were to be limited to 3.5 per cent, 7 per cent, and 
17 per cent above normal and the maximum increase of pressure in 
the pipe line was not to exceed 15 per cent. 

All these guarantees were easily maintained. In May, 1911, the 
pipe lines were filled and the turbine started for the first time. A 
number of tests were then carried out, and about three months later 
the definite taking-over tests of all the turbines were made by Mr. 
Geheimrat Reichel, professor of the Charlottenburg Technical School 
of Berlin. The output of the turbines was measured by electrical 
means; the quantity of water used was measured by the “ Schirm 
methode” in the tailrace. The highest efliciency that. was attained 
was 82.6 per cent, with an effective turbine output of 11,000 horse- 
power. With nozzles fully opened the maximum effective horse- 
power of the turbines was about 16,000. 

The maximum increase of speed was 15 per cent, whilst the in- 
crease of pressure above static head did not exceed 10 per cent. 

The five Escher Wyss turbines are each coupled to 3-phase gen- 
erators, made by Brown, Boveri & Co., of Baden. 

At a power factor of 0.6 each machine gives 17,000 kva. at 11,000 
volts, 50 periods per second. One of the machines gives the whole 
of the 17,000 kva. 

Four of the units are of the double generator type, with a shaft 
common to the two. The two armatures are separated by a fireproof 
partition, so that if a coil of one should be burnt out the coils on the 
other machine are not affected. 

Allowing for windage and friction, the guaranteed efficiency is 
94.8 per cent for the double generator and 95.3 per cent for the single 
generator. This is at full load and with a power factor of 0.6. 

The voltage difference from full load to no load and vice versa is 
1,400 volts. This may be necessary by the conditions of working the 
furnaces, as they are very subject to sudden changes. 

The total weight of one generator is 205,000 kilograms (200 tons). 
Ninety-two thousand kilograms go to the rotating field and shaft. 
The armature weighs about 90,000 kilograms. 

The armature stampings are held in position in the cast-iron 
armature ring by vee grooves. Cast-iron rings clamp the stampings 
at the ends and these rings extend to bottom of slots. The outside 


372 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


diameter of the armature is 6 meters and the inside diameter is 4.4 
meters. The radial depth of the laminated structure is 21.5 centi- 
meters. To permit of overhaul and repair the armature is divided 
on its horizontal diameter. 

The magnet wheel has a cast-steel hub and arms, and the periphery 
of the wheel is made up of solid forged steel rings. To these rings 
cast-steel poles are fixed, the ends of the poles being laminated. The 
poles are held by dovetails and cotters. 

The field poles are wound with bare annealed copper on edge and 
all the pole windings are in series. 

The slip rings are of cast steel and carbon brushes are used. The 
exciter is direct coupled and gives 130 kilowatts at 220 volts. 

Every rotor was tested for mechanical strength by being rotated at 
1.8 times the normal speed for half an hour; that is, at 450 revolu- 
tions per minute. 

The bearings are suppled with oil under pressure and the oil is 
cooled by water coils. 

The other five turbines supplied by J. M. Voith are very similar 
to the above, with double-runner wheels and two nozzles to each 
runner. At the official tests all the guarantees were exceeded. 
Coupled to each of the Voith turbines is a double 8,400 kva., 
11,000 volts, 50-cycle, three-phase generators made by the Allmiénna 
Svenska Co. Each consists of two seperate armatures and two re- 
volving fields on a common shaft running on two bearings. By 
reason of the highly inductive load on the generators, the PF is 
only 0.6, but with PF=unity, each machine would develop up to an 
individual capacity of 23,000 electrical horsepower. Each_ double 
generator weighs 250 tons. 

Figures 1 and 2, plate 3, are from photographs of some of the plant 
used in the Rjukanfos power house. 


PAULING FURNACE. 


This furnace was invented by Mr. H. Pauling, of Gelsenkirchen, 
Westphalia, and he took the idea from the well-known horn-break 
lightning arrester. As installed at Gelsenkirchen and Innsbruck it 
consists of two hollow iron electrodes, arranged to form a vee, which 
at the lowest point is about 4 centimeters across, as shown in figure 5, 
At this point there are two lighting knives, which can be ap- 
proached to within a few millimeters and are readily adjustable. 
The arc strikes across and runs up the diverging electrodes by rea- 
son of the natural convection currents, and the repelling action of 
its own magnetic field, but principally because of a blast of heated 
air from an air-duct immediately below. The are diverges as it 
follows the shape of the electrodes, and it attains a length of about 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Scott PLATE 3. 


FIG. 1.—RJUKAN POWER HOUSE. 


Fifteen thousand horsepower, Voith double turbine, running at 250 revolutions per minute. 


bs 


Fig. 2.—RJUKAN POWER HOUSE. 


One of the 8,400 Kva, three-phase alternators made by the Allmiinna Svenska Electric Co. 


NITRATES FROM ATMOSPHERE——SCOTT, 373 


a yard. At each half-period of the alternating current a fresh arc 
forms, so that the result is the equivalent of a triangular sheet of 
flame. 

An important feature is that the wall which divides the two parts 
of the furnace is hollow, and gas and air which has been through the 
furnace previously and been cooled is blown through this central 
passage. As will be no- 
ticed from figure 5, this Gas sAirQuriet Gas ¢ Air Ovtler 
cool gas and air strikes into 
the top of the arc flame, 
and it serves to cool the 
gases which have just been 
formed. The two arcs are 
in series, and the furnaces 
work in sets of three—one 
to each phase. Each fur- 
nace, therefore, receives 
single-phase current at 
6,000 volts, 50 periods per 
second. 

At Gelsenkirchen there are 
24 such furnaces, each taking 
400 kilowatts at 4,000 volts. 

The ares are started by 
means of copper starting knives, which can be approached to within 
a few millimeters at the bottom, when the two horns come together. 
When the arc has been started, these starting knives are withdrawn, 
and the larger space between the electrodes is then sufficient to let 
the hot air from the tuyére pass through freely. The starting knives 
last 20 hours, whereas the main electrodes, which are of steel and 
water cooled, last 200 hours. 

The works of La Nitrogéne Cie, at La Roche-de-Rame, Hautes 
Alpes, France, have nine Pauling horn-arrester furnaces of 600 horse- 
power each in operation, and nine more, of 1,000 horsepower each, are 
being added. 

The general layout of the plant is shown in figure 6, and it will 
be noted that the furnaces are arranged in sets of three—one furnace 
to each phase. 

The fresh air for the furnaces is supplied by a 250-horsepower 
turbo-compressor, running at 3,000 revolutions, and before it gets 
to the furnace tuyéres it passes through a preheater. The air travels 
through the furnace at 1,200 feet per second. 

When the gases come from the furnaces their temperature is about 
1,000° C., and the nitric-oxide content 1.15 to 1.5 per cent. They 
first pass through the preheater, and give up some of their heat to 
the fresh air going to the furnaces. 


Fig. 5. 


374 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


The gases then pass through the two cooling towers, which are 
outside the furnace house. Each of these towers is 16 feet in diame- 
ter and 40 feet high, and filled with fire brick. When the bricks of 
one tower have become hot the gases are switched over to the other 
tower. Fresh air is then drawn through the heated tower by means 
of the chimney (85 feet high), and the brickwork in it is thus cooled. 

The gases are sucked out of the cooling tower by a 15-horsepower 
fan and forced into the oxidation tower, which is built of reinforced 
concrete and measures 33 feet diameter and 75 feet high. Here, the 
temperature having fallen to 600° C., oxidation to NO, goes on 
rapidly. . 

From the oxidation tower there are two pipe lines, and one takes 

some fixed gas and air back to 

“* the furnaces, where it is passed 
through the central passage 
$ofur and comes in contact with the 
freshly fixed nitrogen at the 
_y. top of the ares. In this way 


A yr oem Prehestler 


Cam bresto Za 7 
! 


win I Sala te > the fresh gas is cooled without 
as being diluted. 
oa i, fer gare Sect A second pipe line, of alumi- 
' ¢ nium, takes the remainder of 
er li re — — Comer — - > the gases to the absorption 
__.y pAbsorbrion Towers : z 


towers, each of which con- 
1 tains 250 tons of stoneware 
un _. packings. The gases pass from 
GB ‘ 1 to 5, whilst the water, grad- 
ually accumulating more and 
Fig. 6.—THE LAY-OUT OF THE WORKS BY LA NITROGENE A ° 

cin, FRANCE. more acid, flows in the oppo- 
site direction, namely, 5 to 1. 
Montejus operated by compressed air raise the solution to the top of 

the different towers. 

The concentration of acid at bottom of No. 5 tower is about 5° 
Beaume; at bottom of No. 4 it is 8°; at bottom of No. 3 it is 15°; 
at bottom of No. 2 it is 25°; and at bottom of No. 1 it is 35°, which 
corresponds to about 40 per cent of HNO, 

The gases from No. 5 absorption tower still contain a small amount 
of NO and NO,. They are passed through an acid filter, in which 
the last traces of acid are condensed, and then pass to the nitrite 
towers. These contain sodium-carbonate solution, and the gases 
react with it to form sodium nitrite, having a concentration of 20 
per cent. This is submitted to evaporation, the hot furnace gases 
being used for the purpose, and white sodium-nitrite crystals are 
obtained containing 95 per cent of nitrite and 3 per cent of nitrate. 

The nitric acid goes to the acid concentrators, in which it passes 
through a series of porcelain and fused quartz vessels arranged in 


YGOMLG 


weer eK ee ewe ew we 


NITRATES FROM ATMOSPHERE—SCOTT. 375 


stairway fashion. The acid is also heated by direct contact with hot 
gases which come from the furnace. These gases are thus charged 
with water and nitric-acid vapor. 

To condense the acid the gases are passed through a cooling coil 
of stoneware, which offers a large cooling surface. The remainder 
of the gases then pass to the oxidation tower and mix with those 
coming from the furnace. 

The acid obtained by the process is 36° Beaume and contains 50 
per cent HNO,. The concentration can not go beyond 60 per cent 
by this process, because the vapor produced has a concentration 
which increases with the concentration of the solution, and for 66 
per cent the vapor produced has exactly the composition of the 
liquid. 

To obtain higher concentration other processes must be resorted 
to, and as high as 98 per cent can be obtained. 

Some idea of the efficiency of the plant may be obtained from 
the fact that Mr. Pauling guarantees 60 grams of 100 per cent HNO, 
per kilowatt-hour of electrical energy, measured at the entrance of 
the electric transmission line into the factory; and also that the 
electrochemical plant proper will cost about 120 franes (£5) per 
kilowatt. 

The Southern Electro-Chemical Co., of Nitrolee, S. C., in the 
United States, has a 4,000-horsepower plant on the Pauling system 
for manufacture of calcium nitrate. Electric energy is generated in 
two water-power plants at Great Forks and Rocky Creek. 


CALCIUM CYANAMIDE. 


The discovery of calcium cyanamide came about as the result of a 
research by Dr. Franck and Dr. Caro, who were following on the 
lines of some previous work of Playfair and Bunsen. Their imme- 
diate object was to make cyanide of potassium for the recovery of 
gold from tailings, and they incidentally found that barium carbide 
absorbed nitrogen to form barium cyanamide. By using calcium 
carbide they obtained a similar reaction, according to the formula— 

CaC,+2N=CaCN,+C 

It was then found that by treating calcium cyanamide with hot 

water it gave off ammonia according to the equation— 
CaCN,+3H,O=CaCo,+2(NH,), 
and this gave rise to the idea of using it as a manure. 

As carried out at the Odda Works the calcium carbide broken into 
lumps is delivered to crushing machines, from which it passes to 
mills in which it is ground fine, the whole of these operations being 
effected automatically in an air-tight plant so as to prevent acetylene 
gas being given off. It is of interest to note that the glowing mass 
from the calcium carbide furnace can not be used straight away. 


376 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


The powder is then filled into electric furnaces, of which, in the 
first installation at Odda, there are 196, each holding 300 kg. 

Figure 7 is a rough sketch of the furnace, and it will be noticed 
that down the center there is a cardboard tube to provide a space 
for the carbon pencil. After the carbide has been filled in the carbon 
pencil is fixed in position and the lid fastened down and made air- 
tight. 

Alternating current is now switched on and the temperature is 
raised to 800° to 1,000° C. The cardboard tube and certain card- 
board partitions which had been placed in the furnace when the 
calcium carbide was run in are burnt up, and they leave spaces which 
allow the nitrogen gas, which is admitted under pressure, to circulate 

freely. Electric current is 

Carkan pencil kept on for 25 hours, and at 

+ the end of 35 hours all the 

nitrogen has been absorbed, as 
shown by the meter. 

At Odda this nitrogen is 
made by the Linde distillation 

Seba process, but in one of the 
French factories the Claude 
process is used. 

carbon pee’! "The 196 furnaces make 
about 30 tons of calcium cyan- 
‘evry amide, containing 18 per cent 
of nitrogen, per day of 24 
forrepebe) |) OUTS, 
rast When it is turned out of the 
furnace the cyanamide looks 
like black clinker. After be- 
ing broken up it is fed into 

Fig. 7.—ELEcTRIC FURNACE FOR MAKING CALCIUM a crashey andl thes ith fo 

on | oes 4 apeamel ‘ roulette mills, where it is 
ground up fine for market. 

It is then packed in a paper-lined bag, which is in a jute bag. For 
tropical countries there are two outer jute bags. 

Recently improvements have been introduced at the Odda Works 
whereby, with the same amount of power and labor, the output has 
been increased from 12,000 tons to 15,000 tons per annum. 

The furnaces are now being made to hold 450 kg., instead of 
300 kg. Another improvement is that the cyanamide is treated with 
enough atomized water to reduce free carbide to less than one-half 
of 1 per cent. 

From the point of view of engineers in this country, the installa- 
tion of A. G. Stickstoffdunger at Knapsack in Germany (see Table 


Made To 
Aold 300hy 


Meachion 
beguit af 
te bolom 


6559 
AAANRED AAS SAESY EONAR DAA LYALL AUDA NENTREERN, MINT S79 


Nitrogen pie : 
—>y 
enters here 


NITRATES FROM ATMOSPHERE—SCOTT, 377 


IV) is perhaps the most interesting. Gas is generated from cheap 
brown coal and used in gas engines to generate the electric current. 

Although calcium cyanamide is mostly employed as a manure, it 
has other uses. For example, by treating with superheated steam 
very pure sulphate of ammonia is obtained. Also ammonium nitrate 
and dicyandiamide are made from it. 


EXPLOSIVES. 


Although manures form the main outlet for the products of these 
electric fixation of nitrogen processes, there are other important uses. 

At the Notodden saltpeter factory ammonium nitrate is made by 
bringing the nitric acid into contact with ammonia liquor from our 
English gas works. The ammonia nitrate crystallizes out, and when 
dry it contains 35 per cent of nitrogen, and it sells in this country at 
about £27 a ton. It is the principal constituent of many of the ex- 
plosives for mines. 

Dicyandiamide, C,N,H,, which is made by treating calcium cyana- 
mide with water, when it crystallizes into broad needles or prisms 
is being used for mixing with explosives. It contains 66 per cent of 
inert nitrogen, and is used for lowering the temperature of the ex- 
plosion. 

This is of importance, because ordnance powders rapidly destroy 
rifling in guns on account of the high temperature. The importance 
of this is shown by the statement made publicly in 1905 that the 12- 
inch gun Mark VIII used on 15 British battleships could not stand 
more than 50 rounds full charge. 

Nitric acid is, of course, the main constituent of guncotton, dyna- 
mite, and smokeless powders, etc., and at the present time we are 
mainly dependent on over-seas supplies of raw material from which 
to make the acid. In case of war we should undoubtedly be in a very 
serious position, for whereas most continental countries have plants 
for the fixation of nitrogen from the air, this country does not make 
a single ounce. 

Tt will be remembered that at the time of the Napoleonic wars the 
French had difficulty in obtaining saltpeter with which to make pow- 
der; it behooves us, therefore, not to be caught in the same predica- 
ment. A few rounds from a broadside of modern guns blows away 
into the air as much nitrogen as was used during the whole course 
of a war of the last century. The necessity of having factories where 
explosives can be made to any amount, and quite independently of 
raw materials from overseas, is therefore obvious. Even if the prod- 
uct could not at first compete in price with existing supplies, the fact 
that it was a necessary addition to our national assurance against war 


~~ 


378 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913, 


would justify the establishment of a works to fix the nitrogen of 
the air. 

Various Government factories for the supply of munitions of war 
do not pay, from a strictly competitive point of view, yet everyone 
recognizes that they must be kept up. 


COST OF POWER. 


It will be of interest to consider briefly what are the prospects as 
regards the manufacture of nitrogenous products in this country. 
The problem is, of course, mainly one of cheap power, but to make 
it worth while there must also be a large supply because some of 
the furnaces take 1,000 kilowatts and upward. 

Tn Scotland there are several water powers waiting to be harnessed, 
and one has been investigated which will give 10,000 kilowatts for 
a capital expenditure in hydraulic works and electrical plant of 
£200,000, or £20 per kilowatt installed. It is estimated that electrical 
energy could be turned out for 35s. per kilowatt-year, after allowing 
10 per cent for interest and depreciation. The power is capable of 
extension. 

In Norway electric energy is actually sold at about 20s. a kilowatt- 


year, oe =0.0275 per kilowatt-hour, from which it would ap- 


pear that the cost of installation is about £10 per kilowatt of plant, 
and a considerably lower rate than 10 per cent is allowed for inter- 
est and depreciation. Of course the carriage of the products from 
Norway to this country is an item, but it would not be much more 
than the carriage from Scotland to the south of England. 

We know that very large steam-power stations with turbo-genera- 
tors can be built for about £10 a kilowatt of plant, because the last 
extensions at Manchester cost only £12 per kilowatt, as shown by 
Mr. Pearce’s (the chief engineer) figures. 


Per kw. 

installed. 

Generating machinery, turbine condenser, alternator, ete__-----------~- £3. 75 
Boilers, economizers, superheaters, steam pipes, coal and ash conveyors, 

RATIMSION RS etCrnee tet EN i ido Sn he 2. 20 

Switch gear for generators and feeders_-__ Nh Silsigsag  a wee Sr 33) 

Buildings with accessories... -_----. EPR ERR I Enea 5. 05 

12. 05 


In “ Heavy Electrical Engineering,” Mr. H. M. Hobart, after care- 
fully considering all the details of a typical steam-power station, 
comes to the conclusion that “The complete cost of a station well 
designed on modern lines for an output of over 100,000,000 kilowatt- 
hours per year need not exceed £10 per kilowatt.” With steam turbo- 


NITRATES FROM ATMOSPHERE—SCOTT. 879 


generating units of 25,000 kilowatts, which are now being made, 
there is no reason why the cost per kilowatt should not come down 
as low as for Norwegian hydroelectric plants. Further, if instead 
of burning the coal in boilers it is made into gas and by-products 
are recovered, it seems likely that we shall be able to generate 
electricity as cheaply as the average for Norway. 

To show what can be done by a producer-gas power plant, the 
following estimate by Mr. Chorlton, of Messrs. Mather & Platt, is 
of interest : 


Producer-gas engine power station for 3,000 brake horsepower. 


Capital costs: 
Four 1,000 brake horsepower gas engines complete; coupled to four 
electric generators starting air compressor; gas, air, water, and 


Gxhalst pipes) and water pumps_.- 2-22 eae 
Buildings, engine foundations, crane, and silencer_______________- 2, 770 
PPeHUAbMNeabDOMerS. 22 be ee LD MIN 3 1, 600 
Sena TOMaMas Witting a ea ee eae 
MEnemeainieang. cooling tower... eee 400 

AUPE MMCOSG Soa IE NES Ea eae 


This is equal to £7.03 per brake horsepower, or £10.545 per kilowatt. 
Running costs, on the basis of 800 twenty-four-hour working days per 
annum: 


STMEAISECORANICG StOTeS. 220 2) | eo eae 650 
Repairs, rates and taxes, maintenance, insurance, etec., at 0.01d. 
per brake horsepower hour____---~- Pes mepieenre te Sle) 2 ee 900 
Wages—Three shifts of one man at 40s. 585 
Mnarecshitts of One man at 35s; (/ol) 77), ee 
interes: ang depreciation at 10 per cent... 4...) eee 2, 812 
Rotlprunnine cost per annum... 2 ee ee eee 
Assuming the interest and depreciation to be only 6} per cent, the total 
RIATOICCOS GIS el AO he ae hE ee 3, 892 
The capital cost of a Mond producer plant capable of giving gas for 
POCA NOrsepower ISi2.0 020 Ee 13, 200 
The running cost of a Mond producer-gas plant is: 
PREM TONS TOI SN Ae leet oe he sed ee bs Ueens ye Ue Nil. 
SPOS TOs GU LC KATI ES es Lk ee a ea EB Nil. 
Moo tons of waste slack, at.4s: per ton. 25». see 300 
600 tons of washed slack, at 8s. per ton____-________-_ BON 240 
Maintenance, including rates, taxes, labor (including ne ah steam 
power, repairs, stores, etc., at 2s. 6d. per ton_________-_-_---------- 1, 500 
SulIpimmeracia.: atooos. per tome! iii et ee ie fe re 665 


Interest and depreciation, at 10 per cent_____)___..§ -__-----4+-+.--- 1,820 


PINS VeOSt Aer) ARIE an eels aa ee eo ae 8 ea 4, 025 


380 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913, 


The by-products would sell for— 
AMMONIS, SUIPNATC. At 212 DET TO ee eee eee eens a. ean eee 
Tar, Los: per TOMS “ee BN Le BE TE Atte Mi” esl UY) HU ISS eae 180 
Value of gas not included. 


Credit) pervanmiam seh ye ee Og by Bhai aia. Waa Oui, 4, 740 

Leaving a net profit of £4,740 less £4,025=£715 per annum. 

The net cost of energy, assuming interest and depreciation on station at 10 
per cent, is £4,947 less £715=—£4,232. 

This is equal to 0.047 per brake horsepower hour, or 0.070 per kilowatt-hour. 

The net cost of energy, assuming interest and depreciation on station at 64 
per cent, is £8,892 less £715=£3,177. 

This is equal to 0.0385 per brake horsepower bour, or 0.052 per kilowatt-hour. 

This 0.052 is for 300 days of 24 hours, but for the full number of 
hours in a year it becomes 0.043d. per kilowatt-hour, or 31s. per 
kilowatt-year. If this can be done with 1,000-horsepower gas en- 
gines, then there is considerable hope for the future when the internal 
combustion prime mover is made in as large sizes and as cheaply 
as steam turbines. 

At the present moment, so far as fuel power stations are concerned, 
the position appears to be as follows: 

For large prime movers of, say, 6,000 kilowatts and over the steam 
turbine is in an unassailable position. It is true that the large 
gas engine has been made in units of several thousand horsepower, 
but on account of its slow speed and its cycle of operations the size 
for a given power is very large as compared with a steam turbine. 
Its weight and price are greater, and the cost of foundations and 
housing accommodation very much greater. 

The gas turbine, or the gas plus steam turbine, would solve the 
space difficulty, but although much has been written on the theory, 
and some work has been done experimentally, this form of prime 
mover is still in the air. 

As regards the production of steam and of gas for the above- 
mentioned prime movers, it must be admitted that the method of 
burning coal on fire grates is less efficient than making gas from the 
coal and recovering the ammonia, ete. Also it is necessary to admit 
that there are mechanical limitations to the sizes of ordinary steam 
boilers as at present constructed. 

On the other hand, gas producer and engine plants can not yet be 
considered altogether satisfactory, because the gas is so variable in 
quality. When steam is generated there is no doubt about the 
product. 

With gas, on the other hand, there is no absolute certainty as to 
what its quality will be. It depends on the coal, on the condition of 
the apparatus, on the attention given by the workmen. If attempts 
are made to increase the yield of the ammonia, then the gas is likely 
to be poor, and if the gas is of good quality, then the by-products 
are apt to fall off. 


NITRATES FROM ATMOSPHERE—SCOTT. 381 


A slight change in the kind of coal, and the whole of.the gas appa- 
ratus has to be readjusted, and in the meantime the gas engines may 
have dropped to half power. On the other hand, with a steam boiler 
a change in the quality of the coal makes very little difference. The 
steam coming away is always of the same quality, however much the 
fuel may vary. 

The Johannesburg fiasco is still fresh in our minds, but before that 
there had been similar troubles in large gas-power installations in 
Spain and elsewhere. As compared with the steam boiler, the large 
gas producer is still a faulty piece of apparatus, although it is being 
improved. On the other hand, the present type of boiler is not 
above criticism, for in size it has not kept pace with the steam-tur- 
bine prime mover. For example, at the Lot’s Road power house 
there are eight boilers for each of the 6,000-kilowatt steam-turbo gen- 
erators, and the cubic space occupied by the boilers is about five times 
that occupied by the steam-turbine set. 

In the near future, steam-turbo generators will be of 20,000 
kilowatts and over—one of larger size than that is now under 
construction by Parsons & Co.—and as the size of the prime mover 
increases, this space difficulty of the boilers also increases. It is 
absurd that one turbo generator should require a dozen or so boilers 
to supply it with steam. 

A solution of the problem is the manufacture of the coal into gas 
with the recovery of sulphate of ammonia, tar, and oils. Then the 
gas must be burned in much more efficient boilers than those at pres- 
ent in use. 

Hitherto gas-fired boilers have been of very low efficiency, say, 
somewhere about 50 per cent, but with the new method of Prof. 
Bone and Mr. C. D. McCourt an efficiency of over 90 per cent is 
attainable. The experimental plants at Leeds and at the Skininy- 
grove Iron Works have demonstrated this beyond a doubt. 

The method depends primarily on mixing gas and air together 
in the exact proportions for complete combustion, then forcing the 
mixture under pressure through tubes which are packed with pieces 
of refractory material. The mixture is fired at the outlet end of the 
tubes and strikes back to the entrance end. The flame quickly raises 
the refractory material to an intense heat, and complete combustion 
of the mixture takes place in about the first 6 inches from point of 
entry. The combustion having been completed, the remainder of the 
material acts as a baffle toward the burned gases as they traverse the 
tubes at high velocity, causing them to impinge repeatedly on the 
walls of the tubes. The evaporation is so rapid that the scaling 
troubles met with in other types of multitubular boilers are com- 
pletely obviated, the scale being automatically shed in thin films 
about one-thirtieth inch thick as rapidly as it is formed. 

The core of the material is maintained at a high temperature, but 
when it comes in contact with the walls of the tube it is so rapidly 


382 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


cooled by the transmission of heat to the water that it only attains 
red heat. 

A boiler erected on this principle at the Skininygrove Iron Works, 
Yorkshire, in November last, had the following dimensions: Ten feet 
diameter and 4 feet from back to front, 110 tubes, of 3 inches 
internal diameter packed with fragments of fire brick. The gas sup- 
plied from Otto Hilgenstock coke ovens is mixed with little more 
than its correct proportion of air, and the mixture is forced into the 
tubes at about 2 inches water-gauge pressure. The evaporation is 
5,500 pounds of water per hour, and before being taken over by the 
Skininygrove Iron Works Co., it was run for a month day and night. 

When one considers that a well-known boiler to evaporate 3,140 
pounds of water per hour occupies about 23 by 13 by 15 feet, it will 
be seen how great a saving there is in space. 

@ On February 21, 1912, Mr. Ernest Bury, M. Sc., wrote that the— 

Boneourt boiler which was started up on November 7 last has continued to 
work very satisfactorily; its working is almost entirely automatic, and is 
included in the routine work of the exhaust-engine men, who have 11 running 
machines under their control. 

The boiler has been off for inspection of the tubes, which proved to be clean 
and free from scale, a fact which I attribute to highly rapid ebullition. During 
the length of time the boiler has been at work we have had no trouble with 
priming, at all times the steam having been perfectly dry. 

The average temperature of the waste gases leaving the plant has been 
78-80° G., which is ample proof of the boiler’s efficiency. 

Generally, I consider that the boiler has come up to expectations. It is cer- 
tainly the cheapest method of raising steam which has yet been devised. 


SIR WILLIAM RAMSAY’S PROPOSAL. 


The proposal to burn the coal in situ and bring the gases to the 
surface, when the ammonia, etc., can be extracted and the gases 
utilized for power, has attracted a good deal of attention. 

That the coal when fired will keep alight for years and give off 
useful gases is quite well known. In New South Wales there is a 
seam of coal which has been alight for many years, but it is near the 
surface, and the air can get down fairly easily. With the deep seams 
of this country special provision would have to be made. 

For burning out seams in old collieries the scheme is very at- 
tractive, because shafts already exist, and there are many seams 
which are too thin to work in the ordinary way. The limit for 
economical working appears to be 12 to 15 inches. Lidgett Colliery, 
near Barnsley, worked an 18-inch thick seam for many years, but it 
closed this year. There are, however, several other collieries in 
Yorkshire working seams in the neighborhood of 15 inches thick; 
one colliery near Wakefield having a seam 16 inches thick. In these 
very thin seams the men have to go along the gate roads laid on low 
trucks, face downward, and they propel themselves forward with 
their toes. It really is surprising that men can be found to under- 


NITRATES FROM ATMOSPHERE—SCOTT. 383 


take such work, and no doubt, as time goes on, it will become more 
and more difficult to get men for this work. Of course, these very 
thin seams can only be worked when the coal is of very good quality 
and prices are good. We may take it, therefore, that Sir William 
Ramsay’s suggestion has plenty of scope in the seams of under 15 
inches thick, of which there are many. 

There are also many pits which contain the particular coal known 
as “cannel,” which is specially suitable for making gas. A case in 
point is the Leen Valley coal field of Nottinghamshire, where the 
seam known as “ tophard” will be worked out in 20 years. Now, the 
top part of this seam consists of inferior cannel coal, and since the 
gas companies took to producing low illuminating gas and enriching 
it with other materials than cannel, practically none of it has been 
raised to the surface. 

In the five collieries of the Leen Valley, namely Hucknall, Lenby, 
Annesley, Bestwood, and Newstead, there are millions of tons of 
cannel coal. to say nothing of slack left from the seam of tophard 
coal and a great deal of timber. 

The shafts are already down and roads made, and supposing that 
lower seams prove unremunerative, then all this cannel coal could be 
burnt out for a supply of gas. There are certainly 15,000 acres of 
such coal within 120 miles of London. 


KQUALIZING THE LOAD. 


The problem of utilizing the electric energy of power stations at 
periods when such stations are working on low loads is beginning 
to attract the attention it deserves. The ideal for any power house is 
to secure a load of 100 per cent load factor, and there is no doubt 
that if greater efforts were made in this direction the price of power 
would come down considerably. 

The valleys have been filled in, to some extent, by power and trac- 
tion loads, but as these also have to be supplied at the same time as 
lighting the result was not as beneficial as it was thought it would be. 

Now an electrochemical or metallurgical proposition is quite dif- 
ferent, because such plants can often be shut down during the 24 
hours for an hour or two; the load can therefore be adjusted to just 
fill up the valleys. 

The Yorkshire Electric Power Co. was early in the field with this 
method of working, in connection with the carbide of calcium plant 
at Thornhill. It is of interest to note, by the way, that this Pome 
company is supplying electric energy to 15 collieries. 

At Legnano a nitric acid plant of 4,000 kilowatts has been at w ie 
for some time past, which operates only during the night and certain 
hours of the day, when power is supplied at a cheap rate from the 
hydroelectric station by the Societa. Lombarda per Distribuzione dell’ 
_ Energia Elettrica. Current is supplied by the power company at 
50,000 volts, and, although the price charged does not. transpire, it is 


384 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


evidently at a figure that enables the process to pay, because an ex- 
tension of 9,000 kilowatts is being installed. 

A proposal that is being seriously considered at the present time 
in India is the utilization of the water power from an irrigation dam 
for the manufacture of manure. Owing to irrigation requirements, 
electric energy will only be available for nine months in the year, 
but that will not militate against the manufacture, as nitrogen fixa- 
tion furnaces can be shut down and started up again at any time. 
The use of water from irrigation dams to manufacture manures for 
the farmers gives double benefit, and there are many places in the 
colonies, and in Australia in particular, where such a scheme is 
feasible. 

The Indian scheme is for 30,000 horsepower, and it is said that 
37,000 tons of calcium cyanamide, containing 18 to 20 per cent nitro- 
gen, can be produced in the nine months with that power. 


CONCLUSION. 


We, as a nation, are sadly behind Continental countries in the 
exploitation of the electrometallurgical field. It is all very well to 
start manufacturing “when, the business has steadied down,” but 
generally by that time the best has been taken out of it. The pro- 
cesses become ringed round with patent rights, for naturally the 
master patents go to those who first commence to exploit a process 
commercially. 

In the fixation of nitrogen nearly all the pioneer work of the 
laboratory stage was done in this country by Dr. Priestly, Lord 
Rayleigh, Sir William Crookes, McDougall and Howles, ete. The 
actual exploitation on a commercial scale has, however, been effected 
by a few Norwegian and German engineers, and the center of gravity 
of electrical enterprise at the present time appears to be in Scandi- 
navia. 

It is high time for the engineers and business men of this country 
to go into the matter to see why it is we are lagging behind, and 
especially to look into the question of cheap power supply. Above 
everything else, a progressive industrial country wants cheap power, 
whilst at the same time conserving its resources. We have carried 
municipal trading in electricity further than other countries, but 
have very little to show for it. There are a number of municipal 
plants run by committees of amateurs who know nothing about the 
business, and who frequently have not the sense to pay decent salaries 
to engineers who could tell them. What chance have such plants of 
generating cheaply ? 

The big things of electrical engineering are now being passed over 
because we lack cheap power, and this is especially the case in electro- 
metallurgy. Within the next generation or so all previous work in 
electricity will look small against it, for the future is certainly 8 | 
the electrochemist and electrometallurgist. 


THE GEOLOGIC HISTORY OF CHINA AND ITS IN- 
FLUENCE UPON THE CHINESE PEOPLE. 


By Prof. Evior BLACKWELDER, 
University of Wisconsin. 


{| With 9 plates. } 


The Chinese Empire includes an area larger than the United States 
with the addition of Alaska and our insular possessions. <A large 
part of this vast area, however, is made up of dependencies which are 
but loosely joined to China proper, and are not essential to its in- 
tegrity. She has lost and regained these dependencies from time to 
time in the past, and the same process may continue. The accom- 
panying map will serve to show the relation of these component parts 
of the Empire to each other and to surrounding countries. 

Divested of its outlying possessions, China consists of 18 Provinces, 
which may be compared in a_ general way to our States. The 
Provinces are, however, generally larger than the States and, on the 
whole, much more populous. There is still greater dissimilarity in 
government because, whereas our States are representative democ- 
racies, the Chinese Provinces were, at least until within a year or 
two, satrapies ruled absolutely by imperial governors or viceroys. 

Not a few people in America picture China as a vast fertile plain, 
perhaps like the upper Mississippi Valley, densely populated and in- 
tensively cultivated. In fact, however, it is so generally mountain- 
ous that less than one-tenth of its surface is even moderately flat. 
On the west, especially, it is ribbed with cordilleras from which its 
two great rivers, the Yangtze and the Hwang, flow eastward to the 
Pacific. 

In addition to this diversity of surface, there is also much variety 
of climate. In the northwest the conditions are dry and severe, like 
those of Montana and central Wyoming, while in the southeast they 
are humid and subtropical, approaching those of the Philippine 
Islands. Such are the extremes. 


1 Reprinted by permission, with author's revision, from the Popular Science Monthly, 
February, 1915. All of the larger photographs and some of the smaller ones were taken 
by Mr. Bailey Willis and are reproduced through the courtesy of the Carnegie Institution 
of Washington. 


44863°—sm 1918——25 385 


« 


386 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


It is a fact well known to geologists that continents, and therefore 
countries, have not always existed in their present state, but that they 
have been built as a result of successive events and changes of condi- 
tions. If we were to dig beneath the surface in any part of China, 
we should find first one stratum and then another, and we should see 
also that these strata have been bent, cracked, and otherwise disturbed. 
Some of these structures are old and some young. It would be some- 
what like excavating in an ancient city, where one house or temple 
has been built upon the ruins of its predecessor, and each affords a 
crude record of its time. The geologic structure of such a country as 
China has been determined largely by the rocks of which it consists, 
partly by the climate to which it has been subject, but chiefly by the 
geologic events 
which have  oc- 
curred during its 
history. Ofcourse 
the beginnings of 
that history are 
unknown, just as 
the human history 
of China shades 
into darkness 
when we attempt 
to trace it back 
into the remote 
ages. But the 
present features of 
the. land. are 

Fic. 1.—SkKETCH MAP OF CHINA. chiefly due to the 

Showing its outlying dependencies and its relation to other countries. later events in its 

life, and these have been partly worked out by the geologists who 
have explored its surface. 

We may take as a convenient starting point for our interpretation 
a time far back in geologic chronology,t when China was a land sur- 
face which had been exposed to erosion so long that nearly all the 
hills and mountains that may have existed there before had been worn 
away, leaving a relatively flat plain, with groups of low hills here and 
there. The rocks beneath this plain were of various kinds, most of 
them highly folded. Eventually this surface was submerged beneath 
a comparatively shallow inland sea; and although the uneasy move- 
ments of the earth’s body caused the sea bottom to emerge occasion- 
ally, it remained below the water nearly all through the geologic 
periods which constitute the Paleozoic era, By the end of that time 


1 Just before the Cambrian period, 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Blackwelder. PLATE 1. 


RELIEF MAP OF CHINA PROPER, SHOWING THE RELATIONS OF PLAINS TO MOUNTAINS. 


‘Boe 


GEOLOGIC HISTORY OF CHINA—BLACKWELDER. 387 


we may picture China as a shallow sea bottom rising very gradually 
to a marshy coastal plain on the east. During the long intervening 
ages the accumulation of sediments upon the sea bottom had formed 
successive layers of limestone, shale, and sandstone, which eventually 
reached a thickness of 5,000-10,000 feet. 

This condition did not hold without end, for eventually! strong 
compressive forces engendered in the underlying body of the earth 
squeezed the superficial rocks into folds, and thus bulged the surface 
high above sea level in the region so affected. By the prompt attack 
of streams, winds, glaciers, and the other agencies which are inces- 
santly sculpturing the surface of the earth, these eleyated districts 
were, even while rising, carved into rugged mountains and deep val- 
leys, so that the original folds were greatly disfigured, even before 
the compressive forces ceased to operate. 

It is a fact generally recognized among geologists that in terms of 
geologic time such episodes of compression and folding are short 
lived. They are soon followed by much longer periods, during which 
the internal forces of the earth are quiescent but in which the erosive 
agencies have free play. If any land remains indefinitely above sea: 
level and is not disturbed by movements from below, the mountains 
and hills will eventually be worn away and there will be left only a 
broad, almost featureless, plain. It is believed that China, in conse- 
quence of such a period of quiescence,? was reduced to a lowland from 
which almost all of the preexisting mountains had been removed. In 
this condition it probably remained for more than one geologic 
period, and the western part may even have been submerged beneath 
the sea which at that time covered northern India and part of Tibet. 
In that sea were deposited the thick beds of limestone which are now 
found in some of the western mountain ridges. 

Again, in the Miocene period the forces of distortion within the 
earth accumulated to such strength that they were able to repeat the 
mashing and folding, but this time the area affected lay farther to the 
west and south. At the same time, or perhaps earlier, the eastern 
part of China was cracked in various directions; and the intervening 
blocks, settling somewhat unevenly upon their bases, left a group of 
escarpments and depressions comparable to those now to be found in 
western Nevada and southern Oregon. As before, the work of erosion 
and the leveling of the surface was at once accelerated, so that even 
before the deformation had spent itself the blocks were deeply 
scarred, It is uncertain how far this period of erosion succeeded in 
reducing China to base level. The consummation may have been 
prevented by gentle warpings of the surface, rising very slowly here 
and sinking there. When compared with the great breadth of the 


1 Jurassic period, ° Cretaceous and Hocene periods, 


388 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


areas affected, these changes of level seem very slight, but they are 
nevertheless sufficient to cause great changes in the aspect of the 
country. 
It is one of the basal principles of physiography that streams tend 
to produce in their channels an almost uniform slope from their head- 
waters to the sea. If any part of the channel is so flat that the stream 


SOUTH-WEST NORTH-EAST 


——> 


Sr te 


. a = : = = ri J a 


eS SESE : Gp Ree at 

Fee ee LALA, i= = 

See), SN 
JURASSIC 


CRETACEOUS - EOCENE 
Seah Se 
= TAGE Eo OE 
RST ae A 
MIOCENE 
SZECHUAN ALPS SZECHUAN BASIN CENTRAL RANGES SHANSt PLATEAUS MUANE-HO PLAIN SHANTUNG MTS. 
Dea SUR | Veer SI SSS eer EP 
bis <2 / b 7 a Ps Tet TATA: i 
eee All Inia eee Bis snoee 


PRESENT 


FIG. 2.—DIAGRAMS TO ILLUSTRATE GEOLOGICAL CONDITIONS IN CHINA AT DIFFERENT 
PERIODS IN ITs HISTORY. 


The features are necessarily much generalized and in part hypothetical. 


is too sluggish to carry sediment, it is built up until it reaches the 
required gradient; and on the other hand, if any part has too steep 
a declivity, it is gradually worn down to the proper slope. In con- 
sequence of this law, the parts of China which were slightly bulged 
above their original levels were reattacked by the branching systems 
of rivers with renewed vigor. By carving out the softer rocks, these 


GEOLOGIC HISTORY OF CHINA—-BLACK WELDER. 389 


have made deep valleys with intervening mountain ranges. Some 
of the larger rivers, such as the Yangtze, maintained their courses in 
spite of the slow uplifts directly athwart their courses. A result is 
the magnificent series of gorges along the central Yangtze where the 
great river has sawed its way through a slowly rising mass of hard, 
complexly folded rocks. 

On the other hand, the broad areas which were depressed not only 
below the general level of stream action, but below sea level, were rap- 
idly filled with sand, loam, and clay washed down out of the adjacent 
mountains by the streams. The process of filling the depressions is 
the exact complement of the process of etching out the highlands. No 
doubt the rivers have been able in large measure to keep pace with 
the sinking movement of the ground, so that great rivers like the 
Hwang may have maintained perfectly graded courses across the 
region of depression from the mountains to the sea. While thus en- 
gaged in building up its channel, the river in time of flood frequently 
breaks through its low banks, shifts its channel, and then begins to 
fill up.a new and hitherto lower part of its surroundings. By the 
long continuance of this process of repeated shiftings and fillings, 
the great eastern plain of China and many smaller plains have been 
produced. It is here, where the population is densest and the rivers 
least confined, that the devastation by floods and their attendant 
famines is greatest. 

By this succession of events the surface of China is believed to have 
reached its modern condition. We may now consider it piecemeal 
and see how the existing geologic conditions, which are the result of 
this long series of past changes, influence the habits, occupations, 
and even mental traits of the people. Because space is limited and 
also because I have not seen all the physiographic divisions of China, 
it will not be possible for me, even briefly, to describe each of them. 
A few are therefore selected to show the range of variety of the whole. 

The mountains of northeastern China, typified by the province of 
Shantung, are unlike those of the rest of the country in several re- 
spects. Although the individual peaks are often sharp and rocky, 
they are generally separated by wide, flat-bottomed valleys. The 
process of erosion has here gone so far that the rivers have already 
carried away most of the land, leaving only isolated groups of low 
mountains. The broad valleys accommodate a relatively large num- 
ber of people, who congregate in the villages dotting the intermontane 
plains. In contrast with most mountainous regions, travel between 
the different valleys is comparatively easy here, because many of the 
passes are but little higher than the plains themselves, and constitute 
scarcely any obstacle to progress. Roads are plentiful, and so the cart 
and the wheelbarrow are the principal vehicles for through traffic. . 


390 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


This is one of the few parts of China where boats can be but little 
used. The streams are shallow and full of sand bars, and on account 
of the pronounced wet and dry seasons many of them are intermit- 
tent. For these reasons the majority of them are not navigable. 
The deeply eroded land of Shantung has, however, suffered a rela- 
tively recent movement—apparently a sinking of the land—which 
has allowed the ocean to penetrate the mouths of many of the coastal 
valleys. This marginal drowning has produced some excellent har- 
bors, such as that of Chefoo, the great silk port, and Tsingtau, the 
German stronghold. 


Whi SMG = 


‘Alt 
R\ 
= 


= 


, 
BL 


Quy ‘Ss 


ts nk ~ =< 
> ‘a Fl Mey A/T 
wo" N wy 

Hus 
ww ia oy 


- 


Fig. 3.—_SKETCH MAP OF THE SILT PLAIN OF THE YELLOW RIVER. 
The dotted lines indicate former courses of the river, as it spread over its alluvial fan. 


On the west, and encircling the Shantung hills, lies the great plain 
of the Hwang or Yellow River, which will serve as the type of 
many much smaller plains in various parts of China. As explained 
before, this vast gently sloping plain has been built by the Yellow 
River and some of its tributaries in an effort to preserve a uni- 
form gradient across the sunken portion of eastern China. Like 
the Lower Mississippi and all other rivers which are building up 
rather than cutting down their beds, the Hwang is subject to fre- 
quent floods and occasional shiftings of its channel. Its course be- 
tween the mountains and the sea has thus been changed more than 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Blackwelder. 


Fig. 1.—Low isolated mountain group in 
northeastern China. 

Fig. 2.—Two farmers raising water from the 
grand canal into the head of an irrigating 
ditch by means of a wicker basket slung 
between them. 


Fig. 5.—Heavily loaded freight wheelbar- 
rows with mules for motive power. 
Fig. 6.—A typical passenger cart. 


PLATE 2. 


Fig. 3.—A wide River Plain among the 
mountains of Shan-Tung. The bridge of 
stone slabs across the sand-laden river is 
part of the principal wheelbarrow road 
of the valley. 

Fig. 4.—A typical city wall, with gate tower. 


Fig. 7.—Freight wheelbarrows rigged to 
take advantage of a favorable wind. 

Fig. 8—A medium-sized house-boat used 
on the Yang-tze-Kiang and its tributaries, 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Blackwelder. PLATE 3 


Fia. 1.—SoOIL RESERVOIRS ON A HILLSIDE IN THE LOESS COUNTRY. 


Fig. 2.—MOUNTAIN SLOPES IN NORTHWESTERN CHINA, TERRACED TO PREVENT 
THE EROSION OF THE LOESS. 


GEOLOGIC HISTORY OF CHINA—-BLACKWELDER. 391 


fifteen times in the last 3,000 years. In these incessant shiftings the 
river has strewn all over an enormous area, 500 miles from north to 
south by 300 miles from east to west, layer after layer of fine yellow 
loam or silt; the very name “ Yellow River,” which is a translation 
of the Chinese “ Hwang-ho,” suggests the close resemblance to our 
own mud-laden Missouri. Almost every square foot of this vast 
alluvial fan is, of course, underlain by a deep and fertile soil, and is 
intensively cultivated by the industrious Chinese inhabitants. One 
sees no large fields of grain, such as those on our Dakota prairies, 
but, instead, thousands of small truck gardens belonging to the 
inhabitants of the hundreds of little mud-walled villages with which 
the plain is dotted. The ever-present town walls have doubtless been 
built, because the inhabitants have no natural refuges, as their moun- 
tain cousins have, and their very accessibility has made them in the 
past the frequent prey of Mongol and Tartar invaders or of rebels 
and rioters from within their own country. 

Since the water supply of the plain is not lavish but little rice is 
grown there. The dry-land grains and such vegetables as cabbages 
and potatoes are the staple crops. The small gardens are sparingly 
irrigated, however, in times of drought, by water taken from the 
canals or wells, with the help of various types of crude pumps oper- 
ated by men or by donkeys (pl. 2, fig. 5; pl. 5, fig. 5). 

In this densely populated alluvial plain there is practically no 
pasturage and no woodland. From the very nature of the plain it 
could not yield coal, which is always associated with the solid rocks. 
To bring fuel, as we do, from distant parts of the country is impos- 
sibly expensive for the Chinese, without an adequate railroad system, 
and that is still a thing of the future. When the harvest has been 
gathered in the autumn the village children are therefore sent out 
to gather up every scrap of straw or stubble that can be used either 
for fodder or for fuel. The fields thus left perfectly bare in the 
_ dry winter season afford an unlimited supply of fine dust to every 
wind that blows. This is doubtless the explanation of the disagree- 
able winter dust storms with which every foreigner who has lived 
in northern China is only too familiar. 

Although carts and wheelbarrows are much used on the Hwang 
Plain, their traffic is chiefly local. That may be due in part to the 
fact that the numerous wide and shifty rivers are difficult to bridge, 
while ferrying is relatively expensive. Another, and perhaps more 
important, reason is that the rivers, and particularly their old, aban- 
doned courses, afford natural waterways which are available nearly 
everywhere. By taking advantage of these or by deepening them. 
and in some places by actually digging canals through the soft 
material of the plain, the Chinese have put together the wonderful 
system of interlaced canals for which they have been renowned since 


392 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


Europeans first visited them. The thousands of junks which ply 
these waterways maintain a volume of inland commerce, which is 
inferior only to that of the great railroad countries, such as the 
United States. The relative freedom of communication in this great 
plain of the Yellow River has helped to bring about a greater homo- 
geneity in the people than in any other equally large part of China. 
Here we find a single dialect in use over the entire region, whereas 
in some parts of southern China the natives of even adjacent valleys 
speak languages almost unintelligible to each other.. The other com- 
mon effects of isolation, such as the lack of acquaintance with the 
customs of outside peoples, the hatred of foreigners, the peculiar 
local usages, and many other things, are less prominent here than in 
other parts of the empire. Excepting the coastal cities, there is no 
safer part of China for foreigners to travel through. 

West and northwest of the Yellow River Plain lie the more rugged 
plateaus and mountains of northwest China, with their subarid 
climate presaging the approach to the deserts of Mongolia. Over 
much of this region the ancient limestones and sandstones are still 
horizontal or are gently folded, with occasional dislocations along 
faults. On account of the comparatively recent uplift and differ- 
ential warping which this part of China has suffered, the streams 
have been greatly accelerated in their work, so that they have hol- 
lowed out canyons in the raised portions and have filled in the de- 
pressed basins with sand and silt. This is the region celebrated 
among geologists on account of the loess, or yellow earth, which lines 
the basins and mantles the hillsides everywhere. It is believed that 
this is very largely a deposit of wind-blown dust, although it has been 
worked over considerably by the streams from time to time. No 
doubt Baron von Richthofen, the distinguished German explorer, 
was near the truth when he concluded more than 40 years ago, that 
the “ yellow earth” was the dust of the central Asian deserts carried 
into China by the northwest winds. The presence of the loess deter- 
mines, in large measure, the mode of living adopted by the inhabi- 
tants. Because of its fertility and moisture-conserving properties, 
it is well adapted to dry farming, and there is little water for irriga- 
tion. The Chinese are not content with using the level bottom lands, 
but suecessfully cultivate the hillsides wherever a deposit of the loess 
remains. In order to prevent the soil from washing off from these 
steep slopes, they build a series of stone walls, thus forming soil 
reservoirs or terraces. In this way nearly all of the soil is utilized. 

In such a country rivers are not numerous and those which exist 
have many rapids and shoals. Boats are therefore but little used in 
northwest China. For both passenger and freight traffic, pack ani- 
mals or rude vehicles are the chief reliance. For passengers there 
are also the palanquin or sedan chair and the mule litter. Where the 


ee 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Blackwelder. PLATE 4, 


Fig. 1.—Cave houses in the loess, faced Fig. 3.—A pack train of donkeys, on the 
8 s Pp N 


with stone. : imperial highway over the Loess Plateau. 
Fig. 2.—Men and donkeys carrying coal Fig. 4.—A roadside villageand sinall fields 
from the mines in Shansi. at the bottom of the mountain valley. 


Fia. 5.—A ROADWAY SUNK DEEP INTO THE LOESS BY CENTURIES OF TRAVEL. 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Blackwelder. 


Fig. 1.—A two-man wheelbarrow carrying 
a merchant and his stock of goods. 

Fig. 2.—A river junk. 

Fig. 3.—A friendly crowd 
town. 


Fig. 4.—Mongolian camels in northwestern 
China. 


in an inland 


PLATE 5. 


Fig. 5.—Irrigating 
from a well. 

Fig. 6.—A sedan chair swung between two 
mules. 

Fig. 7.—Getting his initiation into farming 
with grub hook and basket. 

Fig. 8.—Coolies fording a mountain river. 


with water pumped 


GEOLOGIC HISTORY OF CHINA—BLACKWELDER. 398 


country is not too rough, the two-wheeled cart is the usual conveyance 
for merchandise. Over the mountain passes, however, and in many 
of the smaller valleys, roads are so narrow that carts can not be used, 
and so here pack animals, particularly horses and mules, are sub- 
stituted. The traveler in this part of China is often reminded of his 
proximity to Mongolia by the frequent sight of camels. They are 
nevertheless not indigenous beasts of burden and the inhabitants 
themselves do not use them. 

In consequence of the swampy state which prevailed in this part of 
China far back in the carboniferous period, thick deposits of coal 
were formed. These are now exposed in the deep valley slopes be- 
tween beds of limestone and sandstone, and the circumstance has 
made Shansi Province the principal coal-producing district of China. 
The coal is mined by very primitive methods and as there is still no 
adequate system of railroads in this or any other part of the empire, 
the product can be transported only in carts or on pack animals. 
Hither of these modes of carriage is so expensive that it becomes un- 
profitable to transport the coal more than 60 to 100 miles from the 
mine, and so the denizens of a great part of northern China, where 
fuel is scarce and the winters are severe, are no more able to obtain it 
than as if the United States contained the only coal fields in the 
world. The advantages that will accrue from the building of rail- 
roads in northern China are many, but one of the greatest will be the 
wide distribution of this essential fuel. 

In going south by west from the plateau country, one enters a re- 
gion of warmer climate and more generous rainfall, which, for want 
of a more distinctive name, I have called the Central Ranges. This 
is the part of China which was particularly affected by the rock- 
folding movements of the Jurassic period, and which in a much more 
recent time has been reelevated and therefore newly attacked by the 
streams and other erosive agencies. Broadly regarded, it is a com- 
plex of sharp mountain ridges and spurs with narrow intervening 
valleys. The ridges are not so high, however, but that they are clad 
with vegetation, and the scenery is therefore not alpine. The surface 
is nevertheless very rugged and its internal relief averages at least 
3,000 feet. The roughest parts of our Carolinas resemble it in a 
measure. In such a region obviously there is no room for a dense 
population. Wherever there is a little widening of the bottom of the 
valley there is a farm or occasionally a small village, and even the 
scattered benches high up the mountain sides are reached by steep 
trails and diligently cultivated. But even when all of these are com- 
bined, the total area of land under settlement is relatively small. 

In this region there are no railroads whatever, and although wagon 
roads could be built in some places, they would be expensive, and the 
Chinese have not yet attempted to make them. All travel and com- 


394 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


merce, therefore, depend on the agency of pack animals or coolies, and 
the roads they follow are mere trails winding around the steep moun- 
tain sides or threading the bottoms of narrow valleys, where swift 
streams must be forded at frequent intervals. Under such circum- 
stances it is evident that there can be but little effective traffic. Only 
comparatively light and expensive articles can be transported long 
distances. Around the edges of the mountain mass where the popu- 
lous cities of the adjoining plains can be reached with one or two 
days’ travel there has been for centuries an important trade in lum- 
ber. The mountains have now been so largely deforested, however, 
that it is necessary to go farther and farther back into the heads of 
the valleys to find large trees. Hence only the more expensive kinds 
of lumber such as coffin boards—which are absolutely indispensable, 
even to the poorer classes—can profitably be brought out. These are 
often carried for 20 or 30 miles on the backs of coolies—a costly mode 
of transportation. The smaller trees and brush the mountaineers 
convert into charcoal, which they carry on their own backs down to 
the towns along the foothills. 

Lack of transportation facilities is doubtless the chief reason why 
the opium poppy has in the past been widely cultivated in this part 
of China, although the practice has lately been prohibited by the 
Government. The advantage in poppy culture was that it could be 
carried on in small scattered fields and the product was so valuable 
for unit of weight that it would pay for long-distance transportation 
across the mountains. The inhabitants of the region themselves were 
not, however, generally addicted to the use of the drug. 

The rainfall of the central mountain region is sufficient to supply 
the many springs and tributary brooks of which the people have 
made use in irrigation. The mildness of the climate here permits the 
growing of rice, and by terracing the hillsides they are able to make 
a succession of narrow curved basins, in which the aquatic crop may 
be grown. For the cultivation of rice it is necessary that the fields 
be completely submerged during part of the season, and so there must 
be a plentiful supply of water. 

On the larger rivers, such as the Han and the Yangtze and their 
chief tributaries boats are successfully used. In fact, the Chinese 
river boatmen are so skillful in the handling of their high-prowed 
skiffs that they navigate canyons full of rapids which most of us 
would consider too dangerous to attempt. The descent of one of 
these rivers is an easy although exciting experience. The return trip, 
however, is slow and laborious, for the boats must be dragged up- 
stream by coolies harnessed to a long bamboo rope, which has the 
advantage of being very light as well as strong. In the many places 
where the river banks are so precipitous that it is impossible to walk 


PLATE 6. 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Blackwelder. 


LING MOUNTAINS OF CENTRAL CHINA. 


A VALLEY IN THE TSIN 


lver, 


e seen on benches high above the r 


Small cultivated fields may b 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Blackwelder. PLATE 7 


Fic. 1.—COOLIES CARRYING FREIGHT ALONG A MOUNTAIN TRAIL WHICH HAS BEEN 
PARTLY WASHED OUT BY A TURBULENT STREAM. 


Fia. 2.—RIVER SKIFFS IN ONE OF THE LIMESTONE GORGES OF THE CENTRAL™ 
RANGES. 


"NVMHO3ZS JO NISVG SHL OSNIYSGHOG SNIVLNNO|W SHI NI MalA NadO NV 


te} SUL Akal apjamyoeig—'e16| ‘Hodey uRluosy}WS 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Blackwelder, PLATE 9. 


Fig. 1.—A VALLEY IN THE CENTRAL RANGES. 


In the foreground are a series of terraced rice fields now filled with water. 


Fic. 2.—ONE OF THE GREAT LIMESTONE GORGES THROUGH WHICH 
THE YANG-TZE-KIANG PIERCES THE CENTRAL RANGES. 


GEOLOGIC HISTORY OF CHINA—-BLACKWELDER. 395 


along them it becomes necessary for the boatmen to pole around the 
cliff or to zigzag from one side of the river to the other to take 
advantage of every foothold. 

Through the central part of this mountain uplift the great Yangtze 
River, which in its lower course readily accommodates large ocean- 
going vessels, has carved a succession of superb gorges. In many 
places the gray limestone walls rise from 3,000 to 4,000 feet above the 
river, and the stream is compressed into less than a tenth of its usual 
width. Difficult and dangerous as are these canyons, beset with 
rapids and whirlpools, they afford the only ready means of commu- 
nication between eastern China and the fertile basin of Szechwan, 
which lies west of the Central Ranges. 

Without the highway of the Yangtze this great Province, four 
times are large as Illinois and with more people than all of our States 
east of the Mississippi River, would be unable to export its many rich 
products or to enjoy the commerce of outside Provinces and nations. 
It has been effectually barred off from India and Burma by the sue- 
cession of high ranges and deep canyons which appear to be due 
primarily to the great epoch of folding in the Miocene period. Sze- 
chwan is a broad basin which has never been depressed low enough 
to force the streams to level its bottom with alluvial deposits, as in 
the Yellow River plain to the east; nor does it seem to have been ele- 
vated into a high plateau which would have been carved by many 
streams into a rugged mountain country. The soft red sandstone 
beds which underlie it have therefore been sculptured into a network 
of valleys with intervening red hills or buttes. With a climate as 
mild and moist as that of Alabama, and a diversified topography. 
there is opportunity for many industries and for the cultivation of a 
great variety of crops. Szechwan leads all the Provinces in the ex- 
portation of silk. Here grow the lacquer and oil nut trees and a 
wide range of field and garden fruits, grains, and vegetables. Ample 
water for irrigation and especially for rice culture is supplied by the 
many perennial streams which descend from the encircling moun- 
tains. These uplifted and now mountainous tracts have also served 
as a barrier to invaders from all directions, so that this has been less 
subject to wars than almost any other part of China, and hence has 
been more stable in development. Its inhabitants are among the 
most substantial and progressive components of the Chinese nation. 

We now come to the last of the geologic divisions which were laid 
out for consideration. From the Szechwan Basin southwest to the 
confines of India there extends a series of high mountain ranges sepa- 
rated by deep and narrow valleys, all trending in a south or south- 
easterly direction. Although not so high above sea-level as the moun- 
tains north and south of Tibet, these ranges are an even more effec- 


396 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913, 


tive barrier to travel because they are so continuous and the relief is 
so great. Not only is there no waterway but there are no wagon 
roads, and the building of a railroad would be a stupendous and ex- 
pensive engineering task. Such a road would necessarily involve the 
making of a succession of long bridges and tunnels. Here, as in the 
central ranges, settlements are limited to the rare open spots in the 
bottoms of valleys, and so the population is sparse indeed. The total 
commerce is very small in volume, because goods must be carried 
almost entirely on the backs of coolies. The rugged characteristics 
of the region are evidently the direct result of the recency of the 
compressive movement which produced the tremendous mountain 
folds, and perhaps are still more due to the renewed uplifts which 
have permitted the streams to continue the carving of their deep 
gorges. This part of China is geologically very young, and to quote 
the words of the distinguished old geologist of California, Joseph 
Le Conte, “the wildness of youth (here) has not yet been tempered 
by the mellowness of age.” 


in 


THE PROBLEMS OF HEREDITY.'! 


By Dr. E. Apert,’ 


Principal at Andral Hospital, Paris. Secretary General of La Société francaise 
d’ Bugenique. 


It is my pleasure to address you, ladies, on a most attractive sub- 
ject—heredity. What is more interesting than to study a child’s 
physical, intellectual, and moral resemblance to either of its parents 
(direct heredity), to its more or less remote ancestors (atavic hered- 
ity), or to its uncles, aunts, male or female cousins (collateral hered- 
ity) ? What is more enthusing than to search out the reason why and 
how this resemblance is brought about? And vet it was with some 
hesitancy that I accepted an invitation to speak to you on this subject. 
I feared to impose upon you, at least in the second part of my ad- 
dress, some difficult, abstruse, mathematical explanations, compelling 
me to put before you some rather formidable looking algebraic sym- 
bols, which will demand your closest attention. If I consent to talk 
to you of heredity, as I have been obliged to do for a dozen years, it 
certainly would not do for me to tell you of curious and amusing 
facts without giving other explanations than unverified theories. We 
are beyond that, and you would have me at once make you acquainted 
with recent advances; the result of experimental studies on animals 
and plants and their explanation requires a knowledge of natural 
history ideas and of general biology which I will be obliged to recall 
to you; but these discoveries are applicable just as much to the 
human species as to the more humble animals and plants. I will 
therefore explain them to you in detail. 

I would, perhaps, have passed over in silence that most difficult 
part of the subject if I had been called to speak before a frivolous 
worldly audience. But I have before me here an assembly of the 
very highest type. I know that you are ladylike women who do not 
wish a lecturer to divert or amuse you, but to instruct you. You 
come here to acquire knowledge which will enable you to be useful to 
all, to your surroundings, to your neighbors, to your country. Every 
day you prove that you do not fear the trouble you take. It is not 
much to exact a little attention from you, since you do not dread the 

1 Translated by permission, with author’s revision, from Revue Scientifique, Paris, July 
12, 1918. 


* Lecture before *‘ l'Union des Femmes de France"’ (French Red Cross). 


397 


398 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


difficult care of the sick or injured, the dressing of wounds, the 
groans of those operated upon, or the death rattle of the dying. I 
recall that several of your members are at this moment on the field of 
battle, and have no fear of facing climatic dangers and enduring 
hardships even unto death. 

You know that the laws of heredity are susceptible of happy appli- 
cations in the human species, so that you will not doubt, I am sure, 
some explanations that I shall give as briefly and as clearly as it is 
possible for me to do. 

Heredity. What is meant by that word? You know what it is. 
It is a fact of daily occurrence, that the descendants reproduce more 
or less completely certain peculiarities which existed in one or the 
other of their ancestors. 

There is right here a point of observation so universal, so generally 
known, that it is never overlooked, after the birth of a new-born 
child, to ask who it resembles. Is it the father? Is it the mother? 
Generally, persons who have known the father as a child are of the 
opinion that the newly born is exactly like its father at the same age. 
On the other hand, those who knew the mother do not. hesitate to say, 
“ But no; that little mouth, those large eyes, are they not its mother’s? 
There is a most striking resemblance.” In reality both of these ob- 
servations are correct, and we shall see that mathematically the child 
has exactly one-half of the characteristics coming from the paternal 
and one-half from the maternal line. If, in certain cases, very rare, 
however, the child seems to have inherited more from one side than 
the other, it is because certain characteristics are susceptible of re- 
maining latent, masked, invisible; but they exist none the less, and 
generally these latent characteristics include some paternal and some 
maternal characteristics, so that in the great majority of cases the 
child after all is an equal mixture of both parties, a mixture some- 
times happy, sometimes, alas, unfortunate. It is these unfortunate 
cases that a knowledge of the laws of heredity may in some degree 
restrain. 

Heredity bears not only on the features but on the physical char- 
acteristics, the build, weight, tints of the skin, the eyes, the hair, ete. 
It rules also the intellectual side, the morals, morbidness, ete.—in a 
word, all that constitutes individuality. 

Certain individual characteristics may be transmitted for many 
generations. The ancients have preserved to us the history of this 
transmission in the Cicero and Lentulus families by some marks on 
their countenances, to which they owe their name (“cicer,” chick- 
pea; “lentulus,” lentil). In the same way a lock of white hair at 
the middle of the forehead of the youth was for a long time trans- 
mitted, they tell us, in the family of the Rohans. But these family 
characteristics are not long in disappearing, which can be understood, 


PROBLEMS OF HEREDITY—APERT. 399 


for at each generation the women are carrying half of an hereditary 
element which is exempt from the peculiarity. The extraordinary 
part of it is that in the cases cited these peculiarities have not dis- 
appeared sooner. 

On the other hand, it is very natural that some peculiarities should 
be perpetuated where marriages take place within a limited circle 
and where the same families constantly intermarry for several gen- 
‘erations. This is seen in certain regions, but the facility of inter- 
communication tends, however, to render such conditions more and 
more difficult. The populations of certain of our coast islands 
(Ouessant, Brehat) have for that reason taken on a special type. 
Nearly all the inhabitants of a valley in the high Alps show what 
they call sex digitism; that is, an extra finger and toe. Emigration 
toward the cities has caused these people to disappear. Sometimes 
certain family groups are found isolated from the rest of the popu- 
lation not only by geographical obstacles but by their costumes, 
manners, and differences of religion. They may begin to take on 
a certain type even when they are primitively of the same race. 
Thus the Mohammedans of China, who are not immigrants, but pure 
Chinese, have a special type of feature; the Parsees of India, who are 
of the same Indo-European race as the Brahmans, are of a type very 
different from them; the Polish Jews, who are not the immigrant 
Israelites, but who are descended from tribes converted during the 
tenth century of our era, partly to Christianity, partly to Judaism, 
have ended by separating themselves from their brothers, the Polish 
Catholics, not only in their physical characteristics and their intel- 
lectual aptitudes but also by their special disposition to certain dis- 
eases peculiar to them and which form part of a group of familiar 
nervous maladies that I will mention in a moment. 

There is a group of families which have intermarried almost ex- 
clusively for nearly 1,000 years. They are the royal families of 
Europe. This group presents a very important and particularly in- 
teresting subject of study on account of the quality of the persons 
composing it and because of the facility with which their history 
and even their portraits can be traced back to a very early period. 
In a highly authoritative work Mons. Galippe has brought together 
more than 200 portraits of members of the royal houses of France, 
Spain, Austria, Bavaria, and Savoy, who have united with each other 
by repeated marriages in nearly every generation. It is easy to see 
that a family resemblance was very quickly manifested. It is char- 
acterized principally by two peculiarities, the arched nose, the Bour- 
bon nose, which is found not alone among the Bourbons, but among 
the royalty of all the Catholic thrones of Europe, and also the pro- 
jection of the very heavy lower jaw, the teeth projecting over those 
of the upper jaw. The portrait of Philip II of Spain at the Louvre 


400 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


and the portraits of Charles V show this peculiarity most strongly, 
and it is still found more or less characterized in the great majority 
of members of royal families, as much among the great houses that 
we have mentioned as on the small thrones of more recent founda- 
tion where they are at once fixed by repeated alliances. 

You see, the peculiarities persist in successive generations only 
when they exist at the same time in the paternal and maternal an- 
cestors. In the inverse case they rapidly disappear. 

In what concerns the intellectual faculties we reach the same con- 
clusions. We could cite numerous examples of families where the 
same order of talents has appeared among several members. Among 
literateurs, the two Plinys (uncle and nephew), Seneca and _ his 
nephew Lucien, the two Corneille brothers and their nephew Fonte- 
nelle, the two Chénier brothers, the two Musset brothers, the two 
Alexandre Dumas, father and son, and many others. Among learned 
men we find the physicists Becquerel, grandfather, father, son, and 
grandson ; the mathematicians Bernouilli, uncle and three nephews or 
grandnephews, and the naturalists Geoffroy-Saint-Hilaire, Isodore 
and Etienne, father and son. Among painters are the three Vernet. 
Carl, Joseph, and Horace. We could lengthen the list very much, 
but the persistency of high talent seldom persists more than three 
generations. In order that this may be otherwise, the inheritance of 
a certain talent must be maintained by the union of families equally 
endowed. We could mention several examples of this. Thus the 
Darwin and the Galton families, both of which include eminent 
naturalists, have been thus united repeatedly. Here we find the per- 
sistence of remarkable faculties relative to natural history for five 
generations, since Erasmus and Robert Darwin, both naturalists 
of high merit, grandfather and father of the illustrious Charles 
Darwin, down to the sons and grandsons of the latter, one of whom, 
George, has recently died after achieving some remarkable work in 
natural history, and another, Leonard Darwin, who presided re- 
cently at the meeting of the Eugenic Congress in London. The Gal- 
tons likewise were perpetuated by Sir Francis Galton, grandson of 
Charles Darwin through his mother. It was he who founded the 
Eugenie Laboratory of London, and accumulated numerous works on 
heredity, from which the greater part of the facts that I will relate 
to you are borrowed. 

The most beautiful example of mental heredity is that of the Bach 
family, the musicians. The beginner was Veit Bach, a baker at Pres- 
bourg, who refreshed himself after his toil by his songs and music. 
He had two sons, who commenced that unbroken line of musicians 
of the same name which spread over Thuringe, Saxony, and Fran- 
conia for nearly two centuries. Fifty-seven musicians of that family 


* 


PROBLEMS OF HEREDITY—APERT, 401 


have left a record and twenty-nine are mentioned by Galton as emi- 
nent musicians. 

The Bachs contracted numerous marriages for their daughters 
with former music masters, organists, and town musicians, as the 
custom of the body corporate at that time permitted. Those fre- 
quent marriages among musicians could not help having great in- 
fluence upon the musical talent of their offspring, and this, says Mr. 
Ribot, is one of the most beautiful examples of artificial or natural 
selection that one would find in the human species. 

We now come to heredity of moral characteristics. Morality is 
transmitted in families; an honest father and mother have good sons 
and daughters. Of course education and good example have their 
share in it, but so also does heredity. Inversely, bad principles are 
transmitted in families, and we read in every book on heredity the 
history of that mendicant who arrived in the English colonies of 
America in the early days of their colonization, and who, endowed 
with all vices—a drunkard, a thief, and debauched—had passed half 
of her long life in prison. She had had numerous children, and in 
looking over the civil archives of the State and also those of the 
galleys and prisons we can safely state that among several hundred 
of her descendants four-fifths were delinquents for misdeeds of 
various kinds and a dozen had ended their lives on the gallows. 

Permit me here one digression. It suggests a subject which has been 
much considered—that of responsibility. Since tendency to crime is 
inherited, since there are born criminals, are they responsible for 
their crime, and should they be punished? Are they responsible? 
The question should be considered from two very different stand- 
points. There is the philosophical point of view. It is possible that 
from that view, we might say that responsibility does not exist, for 
all our acts are determined by causes and that our will is only an illu- 
sion. I will not discuss this, for centuries since the time of ancient 
philosophers have not sufficed to settle it, and I have no desire to 
enter into the controversy of the free will, of the efficient cause, and 
the determining of our acts. That phase of the question, however, 
ought by no means prevent us from responding when we consider the 
practical point of view. On this side the more the delinquent has 
acted through the fact of tendency due either to heredity, environ- 
ment, or to education, the greater the need that he fear chastisement, 
for it is only such fear that restrains the immorally born person. 
The accidental delinquent should certainly be punished, but his pun- 
ishment is not a social necessity; for the punishment of being a born 
criminal is forced upon him; it is rendering him a service to 
furnish him the only reason that he has for struggling against his bad 
instincts. The only irresponsible beings are delinquents who have 


44863°—sm 1918—— 26 


. 


402 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


lost all consciousness of their acts, epileptics for example, who in 
their normal state have no recollection of what they may have done 
during their frenzy, and also certain insane persons. There remains 
for me the discussion of the inheritance of diseases, an interesting 
phase of the question of heredity, because of its many practical and 
important applications. We should distinguish, on the one hand, 
between inherited maladies, known as family diseases, which seem 
to have no other cause than that of heredity, and, on the other hand, 
the much more common illness where heredity plays only a predis- 
posed or accessory part and is merely a factor among other more 
active and more important agents. 

Charcot has described, under the name of “ family maladies,” cer- 
tain affections of the nervous system; they habitually attack a con- 
siderable proportion of the same family (25 or 50 per cent). They 
take similar form and a like evolution with each of the stricken 
subjects. They appear among these persons as the result of taint 
originally from a germ, becoming manifest through their develop- 
ment and independent of all exterior action. 

Since these first works of Charcot, the known number of diseases 
with these characteristics has very much increased. Many family 
affections are now known, not only of the nervous system but of all 
organs of the body. These family maladies are transmitted in fami- 
lies in the same manner as morphological characteristics; they are 
inherited under the same laws as malformation, such as the sixth 
digit, already mentioned. As to malformations, they may pertain 
more particularly to certain countries, certain races, and certain 
groups of people, and especially to groups of people isolated by their 
geographical locations or by their matrimonial customs. There is 
nothing strange in the way that these malformations are manifest, 
for they are the result of veritable inherited malformations. Thus, 
there is a family disease called “V’atrophie papillaire familiale,” and 
which, with very few exceptions, attacks men only; the women of 
these families are almost always exempt, and I will tell you to what 
this happy privilege is due. The children of these families are born 
normal and grow up full of health, but toward the age of 25 the 
sight of some of them begins to weaken; if they consult.an ophthal- 
mologist he discovers, after exploring the depth of the eye, an atrophy 
of the central bundles of the optic nerve and, in spite of all that can 
be done, that weakness progresses until there is almost a complete 
loss of sight. One is led to believe that the disease comes from some 
special physical defect—to an exaggerated narrowness of the cavity 
where the optic nerve leaves the cranium. This cavity remains in a 
fibro-cartilagenous condition during childhood; in men the ossifica- 


tion of the circumference of the orifice is completed toward the age - 


of 25; but in women it more often remains incomplete. The malady 


PROBLEMS OF HEREDITY—APERT. 403 


is, then, the result of a gross, anatomical malformation. All family 
diseases thus have for their origin an hereditary malformation, though 
often it is not so easily revealed and is discovered only by micro- 
scopically examining the inmost of the tissues. But in either case 
it is a question of the transmission of a special defect, and there is 
nothing wonderful in the fact that it is transmitted according to the 
same laws as physical peculiarities. 

There are other diseases inherited in an entirely different way. I 
will commence with microbe diseases. In these diseases the affliction 
which has stricken either the father or mother, or both, is transmitted 
to the child through an entirely different process. It is really con- 
tagion. In certain diseases the mother, carrying some deadly germ 
(which she may or may not have received from the father of the 
child), contaminates her child, before its birth. That is most usually 
the case on the average. I do not insist upon it. These cases are 
known as “heredity contagion.” Oftener still, the child is born safe 
and sound, and it is only during the course of the first months or the 
first few years that it is contaminated by one or the other of its 
parents. It is apparent that it does not seem to be more than pure 
heredity. Tuberculosis is like that. You know how tuberculosis 
appears to be inherited. In your Red Cross dispensaries you find that 
entire families are now and then decimated by tuberculosis; the 
father or mother, or both, are ill with pulmonary tuberculosis; the 
new-born children die of tuberculosis meningitis; if they escape that, 
they show signs toward the fifth, tenth, or twelfth year of “ King’s 
evil,” or tuberculosis of the glands; of Pott’s disease, osteotic tubercu- 
losis of the vertebre; of coxalgia, arthritic tuberculosis of the hip, 
etc.; and at last, during their youth, they succumb to pulmonary 
tuberculosis. Such facts are unfortunately reported each day, and 
we understand how belief in the inheritance of tuberculosis has per- 
meated the mind. In reality heredity here plays only a restricted 
role, as I will show you. The great secret in its spread is contagion. 
A proof of it is that the disease is communicated just as easily to 
persons who live with a tuberculosis family, though they have no re- 
lation to it. Sometimes it is neither the father nor the mother who 
is the souree of disease which has stricken their children successively, 
but it may be a governess or a domestic affected with tuberculosis. I 
once knew of a family free from tuberculosis where a young widow 
returned to her father’s home after having been married a year to a 
tuberculosis husband, from whom she had caught the germ of the 
disease; she communicated it to her two young brothers, who died, 
and then to her mother, who at present alone survives her three chil- 
dren. One could relate innumerable instances of this kind. I do not 
wish to say that heredity has nothing to do with tuberculosis. It in- 
fluences more or less a resistance to the disease. In some families we 


404 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


see certain forms of tuberculosis galloping from the start with such 
rapid strides that no treatment can check them. Repeated contamina- 
tion, colonies of bacilli that have crept in, certainly may be the cause 
of it, yet it is believed that there exist some soils favorable through 
heredity to the growth and spread of the bacilli. But if children of 
tuberculous parents are protected as much as possible from. infection 
of the bacilli, we have found that the disease has not developed in 
them. My teacher, Grancher, believed this, and with that idea he 
founded the “ Oeuvre ” for the protection of children against tubercu- 
losis. That foundation takes children from homes where the sick 
father or mother by coughing is spreading the bacilli; it raises these 
children in peasant’s homes in chosen localities in the country. It is 
demonstrated that these children show a much smaller proportion of 
tuberculosis than the population taken as a whole. 

In short, in the propagation of microbe diseases in families, hered- 
ity, properly speaking, plays but a very limited role. The propaga- 
tion of disease is due to contagion, heredity contagion for certain 
diseases, but, more often still, common contagion, and this rule 
applies particularly to tuberculosis. 

I have to speak to you now of another deduction where the dis- 
eases of parents may affect the condition of the child. When the 
parents at the time of procreation are in a bad state of health they 
give birth to children who have what has been called “ the defects 
or scars of degeneracy.” This is not really inherited, for it shows 
no resemblance between parents and children. On the contrary, the 
children in these cases have strayed from the type of people to which 
their parents belong; they develop abnormal characters, which show 
that they are different from the usual conformation of their race 
and species, and even that of the normal human being. This is the 
literal significance of the word “ degeneracy.” 

It is degeneracy, for example, which is seen in descendants of 
drunkards. The question is really not one of heredity, but of pre- 
cocious intoxication from a germ or, to state it better, from sexual 
cells which are developed in a manner modified in their normal com- 
position by alcoholic impregnation. Al] kinds of intoxication act 
the same—intoxication from opium or morphine, the professional 
intoxication from tobacco (from workmen in tobacco manufactories) , 
or from lead (workmen employed in the making of red or white 
lead). A proof that intoxication from the germ is the cause of it 
rather than heredity is that intoxications in youth show the same 
result. Early alcoholism develops vices analogous to those due to 
alcoholism in the parents; chronic microbe diseases succeed, like intox- 
ication, in seriously affecting the internal life. Syphilis in the parents 
(even when it has ceased to be contagious, which seems to prove that 
the microbe is no longer the cause of it) may also produce “ degene- 


PROBLEMS OF HEREDITY—APERT. 405 


rate scars ” upon the infants, and likewise cause serious infections of 
youth, chronic gastroenteritis, “ athrepsia,” etc. 

These facts show us that heredity only preserves its power when 
the infant possesses normal conditions for its development identical 
to those that their parents had. Otherwise the child ceases to re- 
semble them; he is degenerate. This is opposed to inherited trans- 
mission. 

This distinction is important, and it becomes much more important 
to dwell upon it since able authors do not appear to have found it 
out. I have spoken to you of the excellent and very interesting work 
of Mons. Galippi. Everything is perfect about it save the title. 
Mons. Galippi has called it “ Hérédite des stigmates de dégénér- 
escence et les Familles souveraines” (Heredity of the stigmas of 
degeneracy and the royal families). Now he shows us a certain 
conformation of the face transmitted by heredity, a similarity to one 
another through many generations of the same line. It is the trans- 
mission of a family characteristic; it is directly opposite to that 
which transpires from the “stigmas of degeneracy.” These stigmas 
momentarily separate some descendant from the normal family 
type. If the distributing influence which has deviated these subjects 
from the normal type ceases to act, their descendants return to the 
normal type. We have seen this in certain groups of peoples sub- 
jected to defective hygienic conditions; thus the malarial regions 
of the Bresse, the Dombes, and the Landes were inhabited, before the 
sanitary improvements were made, by a small-sized race, many of 
whom had various malformations described under the name of stig- 
mas of degeneracy (the registers for army service at the time show 
this). From the time when these countries were made healthy by 
draining the swamps, the new generations became of normal size 
and now there are no more exemptions from military service for con- 
stitutional defect in those cantons than in those places which have 
never been touched by malaria. These facts are strictly analogous 
to a very great degree to those seen in certain animal or vegetable 
species. There exists (I mention this example among a thousand 
others) a species of crow-foot which, when the seed sprouts in sub- 
merged land, has lacinated leaves altogether different from the ordi- 
nary leaves of the plant when grown in dry soil. If made to grow 
in submerged land for a number of successive generations as long as 
the experiment permits, and if the seeds are gathered at each genera- 
tion, those seeds which were sowed in dry land would surely produce 
full leaves without the number from the lacinated generations having 
any influence. The lacinated state, then, is a condition of degen- 
eracy which exists only when a cause provoking it exists. Heredity 
plays no part in its propagation. It is important to distinguish 
these facts from facts of heredity or they will become complicated. 


406 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1918. 


This is one of the reasons why the observance of traits from heredity 
is so difficult. They are complicated by the intervening of such 
numerous disturbing elements that the laws of heredity can be estab- 
lished only by experimenting on some cases simplified as much as 
possible. That is what Mendel has done. Before showing you the 
very simple and suggestive laws discovered by Mendel, I ought to tell 
you in a word the work of the investigators who preceded him. 

Naturally, I can give you only a brief and necessarily incomplete 
sketch of this history. 

About the middle of the last century there were many students 
engaged in researches on heredity. Lucas published (1850) a book 
entitled “ De V’hérédite ” (On Heredity), in which he showed that the 
condition of the descendant results from the combination of two 
factors: (1) “ Heredity,” which brings about a resemblance between 
the subject and its parents and ancestors; (2) “ innéite” (inherent), 
causing a dissimilarity. Thanks to the innate idea, we see in some 
families certain members who show no characteristic peculiar to the 
family. We now know that that theory is based on some deceitful 
appearances explicable by disturbing causes of which I have given 
you anexample. The doctrine of Lucas has been forgotten by savants 
for a long time. If I have spoken to you about it, it is as a contem- 
poraneous writer. Emile Zola has based upon it that great work of 
the Rougon-Macquart; he has sought thus to give it a scientific 
foundation; the unfortunate part is that before Zola had even com- 
menced the publication of the first volume of that set of books other 
authoritative articles had already brought out the weak and inac- 
curate points of Lucas’s theory. 

A great English investigator, Sir Francis Galton, has employed, 
like Lucas, the direct method of observation in the study of acts of 
heredity. He has carried it to a very high degree of perfection. 
Thanks to some devoted cooperators, he has united a large number 
of genealogical trees in noting the physical, intellectual, and moral 
characteristics of all members in the family studied. A periodical 
work, “ Biometrika,” published these articles. The results were 
worked out in a special laboratory which is perpetuated under the 
name of the Sir Francis Galton Eugenic Laboratory. In applying to 
results thus accumulated the process of higher mathematics, Sir 
Galton and his pupils have established an empiric law, the formula 
of which, however, has changed. At first Galton showed that the 
two ancestors of the first generation (father and mother) control 
one-half in the heredity of a subject, each one being a quarter; then 
the four ancestors of the second generation (grandparents) are 
valued at a quarter in this heredity, one-sixth for each one; then the 
eight ancestors of the third generation (great-grandparents) come in 
for an eighth or a sixty-fourth for each one, etc. Subsequently, 


PROBLEMS OF HEREDITY—APERT. 407 


Pearson, a pupil of Galton, saw that to agree with the reality, that 
formula was exact and conformed to observations only if there was 
made to intervene in each generation a corrective coefficient varying 
from the rest according to the subjects and characters considered, the 
corrective corresponding in total to the “innéite ” of Lucas. On the 
whole, the “ biometric method” of Galton and Pearson, in spite of 
the magnitude of their effort, led to such complicated formulas that 
they were unprofitable in practice. Besides, they gave simply form- 
ulas of a general term not at all applicable to a particular case con- 
sidered independently of all other cases. 

We are about to see that the formula of Mendel, which is much 
more simple, explains the results empirically stated by Galton and 
Pearson. The formulas of these last explain the proportion from the 
results given by the laws of Mendel applied to the whole of an ex- 
tended population. 

Mendel’s laws are the foundation of the study of heredity to-day. 
But we should not forget that the most important of these laws had 
already been discovered by our compatriot, Naudin. Naudin, about 
the middle of the last century, had undertaken the study of the phe- 
nomena of hybridization, as Mendel had done, and had discovered 
the phenomenal principles which a little later attracted Mendel’s 
attention, particularly the resemblance of some hybrids to one of its 
parents and the disassociation of characters in the descent. Naudin, 
who was deaf, and therefore isolated by his infirmity, did not know 
how to make the most of what his works merited, and it is to Mendel 
that the glory of establishing the remarkable laws which deservedly 
bear his name is given. 

The fame of Mendel is of quite recent date; it has only been a few 
years that the learned world has known his name; and now it is 
already famous enough to have societies named for it (“Mendel 
societies”) and a periodical (Mendel Journal) devoted exclusively 
to drawing from the discoveries of Mendel the inferences which they 
bear. This glory is tardy. It was in 1868 that Mendel published his 
discovery, but it was ignored, and it was not until 1900 that the 
Dutch naturalist de Vries brought out Mendel’s laws, and it was 
not until then that the name of Mendel commenced to spread abroad. 

Mendel was a monk in a convent of Moravia near Brinn. In his 
leisure hours he devoted himself to the study of natural history and 
cultivated a little garden where he hybridized sweet peas; it was 
in this way that he discovered the laws of hybridization which he 
published in a small local scientific paper, called “Bulletin de la 
Reunion Scientifique de Briinn,”’ and they remained buried there. 
After a time, Mendel was appointed superior of the convent; his 
hew occupations prevented him from continuing his work, and he 
died without knowledge of the fame which awaited him. 


408 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


Mendel noticed the fact that when two varieties of plants differing 
in one characteristic only are crossed, the red or the white color of 
the flower, for example, all the seeds obtained therefrom produce 
in the first generation plants having red flowers only; if these 
hybrid red plants are crossed with them, 75 to 100 per cent of red- 
flowered plants and 25 to 100 per cent of plants with white flowers 
will be obtained. If the stalks of the white flowers are afterwards 
united, the red color would never appear; the stalks of the white 
flowers reappeared in definite proportions in the descent from the 
stems of the red flower united between them. 

Mendel thought that the two characteristics, red coloring and 
white coloring, both exist in the hybrids of the first generation, 
but the red characteristic dominates the white and appears only 
when they exist side by side. If we call “R” the red characteristic 
and “B” the white characteristic, the formula for these hybrids is 
R(B), the parenthesis denoting that (B) is latent, because it is 
dominated. If a plant R(B) should be crossed with another plant 
R(B), the two characteristics would disassociate themselves in the 
pollen grains and in the ovules; half of the pollen grains contain 
only R and a half contain only B; the same with the ovules; the 50 
per cent of pollen grains R now unite half with ovules R, half with 
ovules B; the fertilized ovules which result from the union have 
now as a formula half RR, or 25 per cent and half R(B), or again 
25 per cent. In the same way the 50 per cent of pollen grains B 
unite half with ovules R and half with ovules B, and the fertilized 
ovules which result from this have for a formula the half R(B) and 
half BB, or 25 per cent R(B) and 25 per cent BB. The total is 
95 RR, 50 R(B), and 25 BB. But the R(B) are red like the 
RR and can not be distinguished from them. There are now 75 
per cent of red. Unite them and the reds still give a certain pro- 
portion of whites, which can be calculated for each generation under 
the formulas of the law of probabilities. Without entering into the 
detail of these formulas, understand that at the end of m generations 
of unions between reds resulting from the first crossing, the white 
being at each generation separated from the reproduction, we obtain 
n?—1 stalks of red flowers for one stalk of white flowers. On the con- 
trary, it is well understood that the stalks of white flowers BB united 
with each other never produce anything but the stalks of white 
flowers; they do not contain, either obviously or in any unseen way, 
any red element. 

Such is Mendel’s law. It is applicable not alone to the colors of 
plants, but to all other living beings, animals, and vegetables, to all 
simple characters, capable of producing two and two in varieties 
differing only by single characters. This law is found in the union 
of gray mice (dominant) with white mice (dominated), of normal 


PROBLEMS OF HEREDITY—APERT, 409 


mice (dominant) with dancing mice, (dominated), in the union of 
bay horses (dominating) and sorrel horses (dominated), in the 
union of a single-comb hen (dominating) -with a double-comb hen 
(dominated), etc., and finally in the human species. In the human 
species verification of these laws can not, you understand, be carried 
so far. Nevertheless, it seems to be an established fact that light 
hair and blue eyes are dominated characters in the Mendel sense 
opposing the black hair and eyes, which are dominating characters; 
and one can, from that statement, infer from heredity the color of 
hair and eyes, some conclusions which are being verified almost 
constantly. In the same manner human albinos comport themselves 
the same as the white albino mice, and in their union their descend- 
ants obey the same laws. It is the same with many morphological 
peculiarities, which conduct themselves some after the manner of 
dominating characters and others after the manner of dominated 
characters. In family diseases the morbid character is inherited in 
certain diseases after the manner of dominating characteristics and 
in other diseases after the manner of dominated characters. In a 
word, Mendel’s law is very general, from the highest to the lowest 
forms of life; it applies to a number of characters of varieties that 
may proceed from morphological, physiological, or pathological 
characters. 

The discoveries of embryologists have made known how the mech- 
anism of impregnation explains the Mendel law. By the combina- 
tion of embryological discoveries and Mendel’s discoveries we can 
state that the mystery of heredity has now ceased to be a mystery; 
nature has raised for us a new fold of her veil. 

You know that all living beings are formed from the aggregation 
ef very numerous small living elements called cells. Each cell is 
composed of a tiny mass of living matter, the protoplasm, in the 
center of a more highly organized part, the “noyau.” All living be- 
ings sprang primitively from a single cell, egg, or ovule. The 
simplest of living beings remain all their lives formed of a single 
cell and reproduce themselves by simple division into two, from 
the cellular nucleus at first, and from the protoplasm mass later. 
Heredity among these lower forms of life is explained very naturally, 
since the two new beings are only, so to speak, a continuation of the 
primitive being. 

With beings a little more complicated, the cellular egg under- 
goes successive divisions and produces a great number of cells, which 
remain agglomerate, and the ensemble reproduces the morphology 
peculiar to each species. A certain number of cells from the interior 
of the body are alone susceptible of giving birth to new beings; they 
constitute the eggs of the animal or the ovules of the vegetable. 
Although other cells are differentiated, these reproductive cells have 


410 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


remained identical to the primitive reproducing cell, the successive 
divisions of which have led to the formation of the being in ques- 
tion. Here, again, the explanation of heredity is not difficult. The 
new reproductive cell is identical to the primitive cell. It is very 
natural that its evolution should be identical to that of the last, on 
one condition, however, that it finds, for its life and development, 
conditions identical to those which the primitive cell found. Now, 
these conditions exist for inferior beings; they live in the dense 
ocean, which has a composition very nearly stable. If, however, the 
conditions of development are artificially made to vary, either the 
embryo dies, which is the most frequent contingency, or descend- 
ants are obtained which differ from the parents by their irregu- 
larities, veritable stigmas of degeneracy (analogous to those of the 
descendants of human beings, the physicochemical composition of 
whose internal organs, of the blood, has been changed by sickness 
or intoxication, as the children of diseased or alcoholic parents, for 
example). 

Upon the whole, heredity is easily explained, as well as deviation 
of heredity, as long as reproduction is a question of nonsexual beings, 
which inherit their characters from a single parent, and not from two 
at a time—the father and the mother. 

As to the sexual reproduction of beings, the embryologist also gives 
us some very satisfactory explanations which accord very nearly with 
those which observations give us as to the manner of heredity trans- 
mission, and places in a vivid light in particular the facts observed 
by Mendel and his successors. 

For sexually reproduced beings (we will speak, if you wish, only 
of animals, but it is also the same with vegetable life) the egg— 
that is, the primitive cell, the successive division of which will form 
the new being—is constructed from the intimate fusion of two cells, 
one of paternal, the other of maternal, origin, each one supplied from 
a kernel. The particular point is the constitution of those sexual cells 
from the kernel. Their ripening (that is, the moment from which 
they are susceptible of blending with the cell from the opposite sex 
to form the egg by that fusion) is marked by a curious phenomenon. 
One half of their kernel is expelled; the kernel divides itself into two 
with no special method; one of the halves reaches the pole of the cell 
and forms what is called the polar globule; then it is expelled. Each 
sexual element represents then a half cell, at least where the kernel 
is concerned ; but it is the seed which is important in hereditary trans- 
mission. Here is proof of it: The sexual feminine cell is very large, 
containing in certain cases a thousand times more protoplasms than 
the masculine cell, which is very small and reduced almost to a seed. 
or, rather, a half seed. However, paternal heredity is not less power- 


PROBLEMS OF HEREDITY—-APERT. 411 


ful than maternal heredity; the origin from protoplasm carries very 
little weight from the standpoint of heredity; what really matters is 
the origin of the seed. 

Since the seed is formed from two half seeds blended together, that 
explains how it bears in it two hereditary characters at the same time, 
as Mendel has shown. The Mendel formulas RR, RB, BB are, then, 
in exact accord with that which the microscope reveals to us of the 
embryological mechanism. 

In showing you the Mendel laws we have supposed a simple case 
in which the parents differ only in a single character, the coloration, 
“R,” and the albinism, “B.” In reality there are a very great num- 
ber of characters that make up the noyau, and each one is double 
in each cell, as much from the father as from the mother. In the 
cells from the father each double character is formed of an element 
proceeding from the paternal grandfather and of an element pro- 
ceeding from the paternal grandmother, one of the two being latent. 
Then, from the expulsion of the polar globule one of the two ele- 
ments of each character is expelled, and the expulsion bears by chance 
on the elements coming from the paternal grandfather on the ele- 
ments coming from the paternal grandmother. The same happens 
in the mother’s cells. Finally the cellular egg permits of a very 
great number of juxtaposition characters. The half comes from the 
father, half from the mother, and half between them are latent. 
But the proportions due to each of the grandparents are not fixed; 
they are given up to chance by the expulsion of the polar globule, 
and it is only when one considers the average results on a great num- 
ber of subjects that the chances in an inverse sense balance each other 
and you arrive at the law of Galton; that is to say, one-sixteenth com- 
ing from each grandparent, one-sixty-fourth coming from each great- 
grandfather, etc. One can compare the juxtaposition in the de- 
scendant of the characters of paternal and maternal origin to a 
double mosaic, each one formed from little blocks of marble, added 
two by two; that which is under the corresponding block is the latent 
character, the other is the dominant character species. 

In the same animal species the design of the mosaic remains always 
the same, but the matter of which each block is composed varies 
according to the individual. Two brothers resemble each other, be- 
cause the blocks selected to compose their mosaic are taken from the 
two identical sources; but they resemble each other incompletely 
because the chance which provides for the distribution of the blocks 
proceeding from the grandparents and for the elimination of half of 
each gives changeable results; the half of the blocks are eliminated, 
and it is not always the same ones which are eliminated. It is, how- 
ever, a case where the resemblance between the two brothers is strik- 


412 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


ing. It is the case of twin brothers called “ univitellins.” There are 
twins called “ bivitellins,” who owe their origin to the development 
of two eggs side by side; these do not resemble each other more than 
two ordinary brothers. But there are also twins called “ univitel- 
lins,” who owe their origin to the fact that a single egg is primitively 
cut in two and each half has developed a complete being. Then the 
identity is complete, and there is no more striking demonstration of 
the power of heredity than to see these two beings, who are some- 
times brought up under different conditions, who choose different 
careers, and who, nevertheless, resemble each other so closely that 
their families are apt to confound one with the other even up to 
extreme old age. In these cases the mosaic is not only made on the 
same design (as is the case with all beings of the same species), it is 
not only formed from blocks taken at random, one half each from 
two different sets and distributed at random, in two different stages, 
but it is the same choice—I should say the same expulsion of the polar 
globule—which has presided at the distribution of the blocks. It is, 
as it were, a perfect replica of the same mosaic. You see, ladies, how 
the knowledge of these laws and the mechanism of heredity explains 
certain facts up to this time considered as unaccountable curiosities. 

Tt is not alone in the interest of curiosity to understand the laws 
of heredity. I have told you that certain diseases—family diseases— 
are obedient to these laws in their transmission; that the physical, 
intellectual, and moral faculties are inherited in the same way. The 
knowledge of these laws permits the avoidance of certain dangers 
that could result from certain unions. Up to the present time doc- 
tors are contented with dissuading in a general and vague way from 
a union with families where one of its members might have shown 
a physical, psychical, or pathological defect (but what family is 
entirely exempt from it), and to proscribe all consanguineous unions. 
Henceforth the prohibitions should be more precise and more clearly 
stated, and, on the other hand, permits which would have terrified 
the ancients should be given without any hesitation. Studies of this 
kind are but just beginning. Some influential societies have been 
formed in other countries for the study of this subject; in England 
and the United States they have become of great importance. In 
France La Société Francaise d’Eugénique was very recently organ- 
ized. The results already obtained from these efforts are most 
encouraging. 

In closing this lecture I wish to call special attention to certain 
conclusions of practical importance. 

First. In microbic diseases, and especially in tuberculosis, heredity 
is far from being fatal. One can hardly say that children of tuber- 
culous parents inherit from a soil favorable to the development 


PROBLEMS OF HEREDITY—APERT. 413 


of the bacillus. If care be taken to avoid contact with persons who 
are suffering from the disease, they will have a good chance to escape 
the terrible scourge. 

Second. Aside from the diseases from microbes, there are other 
disorders, notably hereditary, known as family diseases. And here, 
also, up to a certain point, the perpetuation of the disease may be 
avoided by binding oneself to certain strict rules. Each of these 
diseases has its own method of hereditary propagation, and knowl- 
edge of this method indicates the unions which the laws of heredity 
prohibit. 

Third. Physical, intellectual, and moral faculties are likewise in- 
herited under the same well-defined laws. But they are not fixed 
in the descent, as when their heredity is bilateral. 

Fourth. Great efforts are being made at this time to perfect and 
extend the studies relating to heredity; societies and eugenic labora- 
tories are being founded. We can hope that these efforts will show 
us the way to secure amelioration for the generations to come, and 
a lessening of congenital defects, the frequency of which weighs so 
heavily upon poor humanity. 


HABITS OF FIDDLER CRABS. 


By A. S. PEARSE, 


University of Wisconsin. 


Fiddler crabs are of unusual interest on account of their striking 
sexual dimorphism. The male bears an enormous claw on one side 
of the body which is in striking contrast to its feeble mate on the 
opposite side, while the female has two little chelipeds like the small 
claw of the male. Since the time of Darwin (1874) these crustaceans 
have been believed to furnish evidence of sexual selection. The great 
claw and bright coloration of the male differ markedly from the com- 
paratively dull dress and small bilaterally symmetrical chelipeds of 
the female. Alcock (1892, 1900, 1902) is convinced that (1900, p. 351) : 

In one species, at any rate (Geladsimus annulipes), the males, which are 


greatly in excess of the females, use the big and beautifully colored cheliped , 
not only for fighting with each other, but also for “ calling” the females. 


Fic. 1.—UCA PUGNAX, MALES AND FEMALES. Woods Hole, Mass, 


According to the same writer (1892), Milne-Edwards describes a 
South American species, in which the male and female lived together 
in a single burrow, the former closing the domicile with his large 
chela. But Calman (1911) is apparently not convinced that the 
uses of the great chela of male fiddlers has been demonstrated, for he 
says (p. 106): 

What the precise use of this enormous claw may be does not seem to be quite 
certainly known. It is said to be used as a weapon by the males in fighting 
with one another, but it seems too clumsy to be very efficient for this purpose. 
It is often brilliantly colored, and has been supposed to be a sexual adornment. 

The writer was first attracted to the study of the fiddlers by the 
great colonies of gaudy species which swarm along the beaches of the 


415 


416 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913, 


coves and estuaries of Manila Bay. Later experiments were con- 
ducted on the coast of Massachusetts, and these were supplemented 
by observations in the estuaries and mangrove swamps near Santa 
Marta, Colombia. Altogether 13 species have been watched with 
considerable care, and their behavior has been similar in all essential 


respects. 
GENERAL HABITS. 


Fiddler crabs are diurnal. Other crustaceans (7halassina, Cardio- 
soma) which inhabit the ocean beaches with them may be found at 
night if their haunts are visited, and they often stupidly sit in great 
numbers, dazed by the glare of a light, but fiddlers retire when the 
sun goes down and remain in the bottoms of their burrows until 
morning. Fiddlers are said to be sometimes active on moonlight 
nights, but, at any rate, a certain amount of light is necessary to 
bring them from their burrows. Prof. Holmes (1908) found that 
Uca pugnax was strongly positively phototropic when tested under 
laboratory conditions. 

Different species of fiddlers often select the exact habitat, in which 
they are accustomed to dwell with great nicety. On the coast of 
Massachusetts two species live on the same beaches, but Uca pugnax 
usually digs its holes in mud, while U. pugilator prefers sand. In 
the Philippines this specificity of habitat gives rise to fiddler zones 
along the populous margins of the esteros:' (1) High along the edge 
of the shore Uca forcipata is found; (2) this zone grades into one of 
U.. rathbunae just below, and is followed by (8) another in the softer 
mud of the deeper parts of the estero, peopled by U. marionis and 
U. marionis nitida. On the shores of Colombia U’. mordaz is found 
in the clay near the mouths of rivers, and is also abundant with UV. 
minax in the soft mud among the roots in mangrove swamps. 

In addition to their diurnal habits and discrimination in the selec- 
tion of sites for their burrows, fiddlers exhibit a third striking pe- 
culiarity in their reactions to tidal changes. Countless individuals 
are seen on the mud flats at low tide, and active feeding is carried on 
then. The same is true when the tide is rising or falling. When 
the ocean threatens to cover the mouth of a burrow, however, a plug 
of mud is carried to the hole and drawn down after the owner in such 
a way as to shut him inside. During a period of high tides burrows 
in low situations often remain closed for several days; during low 
tides those on higher ground may be left open’ day after day, though 
the flats dry out to such an extent that crabs can not feed easily and 
remain at the bottoms of their burrows. 


1 Estuaries. 


HABITS OF FIDDLER CRABS——-PEARSE, 417 
BURROWS. 


In excavating her burrow a female fiddler digs with the walking 
legs of either side. After a piece of mud has been pried loose by 
working under it with the legs, it is carried to the mouth of the hole 


Fig. 2.—UCA RATHBUNAE CARRYING A LOAD FROM HER BURROW. 
Drawn by Tom Jones from a photograph. 


and deposited outside (fig. 2). The males do not use the big chela 
in digging or in carrying dirt, but work much like the females. 
They gouge out mud with the walking legs and usually carry it with 


Fic. 3.—UcA RATHBUNAE. MALE GOUGING A PLUG FROM THE MUD WITH 
WHICH TO CLOSE HIS BURROW. 
Drawn by Hattie Wakeman from a photograph. 


the first three legs on the side of the body bearing the small chela. 
Rarely they may be seen awkwardly carrying a load in the two walk- 
ing legs just behind the great chela, 


44863°—smM 1913 27 


418 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913, 


Usually the excavated dirt is carried to a particular spot several 
inches from the mouth of the burrow and placed in a neat pile. The 
speed of excavation varies considerably, but the average time between 
loads is usually from half 
a minute to three minutes 
when a crab is working 
steadily. 

As. has been stated, 
nearly every burrow is 
closed by means of a tem- 


= tie porary earthern doorway 
eee when the tide comes in. 
Fic. 4.—A FIDDLER CRAB CLOSING ITS BURROW BY Often the mouth of a hole 
PULLING DOWN A DISK OF MUD. is prepared by bringing in 


Drawn by Tom Jones. i i 
a bit or two of dirt from 


outside or by carrying up some mud from below. Such masses are 
plastered around the mouth of the burrow and smoothed over to 
make the opening more nearly circular. When all is ready the crab 
goes a little way off and secures a disk of stiff mud (fig. 3) which he 
carries back to his hole. 
This plug he draws down 
in’ such a way that the 
mouth of the burrow is 
neatly and completely 
closed (fig. 4). When the 
mud on the beach is too soft 
to make a suitable plug, 
mud is pushed up from 
inside the burrow so as to 
close it or the legs are pro- 
truded a little and the 
opening nearly closed by 
pulling at the soft mud 
(fig. 5) until the small re- 
maining aperture can be 
easily plugged by pushing 
up material from below. 
When a fiddler wishes to 
open a burrow that has 
been sealed, he usually pulls 
the door down into the hole, 
where it is left. 

Fiddlers seem to feel that the necessity for having their burrows 
closed when the tide comes in is very urgent. Once in Massachusetts 
I pulled up all the grass on a thickly populated area about 6 feet 


Fig. 5.—SHOWING HOW A BURROW IS CLOSED FROM INSIDE. 
Drawn by Tom Jones. 


HABITS OF FIDDLEK CRABS—PEARSE. 419 


square and chased all the crabs into their holes. Then I sat in front 
of this open space while the tide covered the mouths of the burrows. 
Though the crabs were timid and apparently feared me, several. of 
them rushed out when the water came near and, after hastily grab- 
bing one or more pellets of mud, plugged their holes. 

Fiddlers are very cleanly in their habits, and may often be seen 
scraping themselves with the small chelipeds or with the walking 
legs when dirt has accumulated on any part of the body. They are 
particularly careful of the eyes and eyestalks, and these organs are 
often folded into their sockets to be cleaned. Mud or débris is not 
allowed to accumulate about the mouths of the burrows. Fiddlers 
are often seen moving such matter to some little distance, where it 
is cast aside or pushed down the holes of other crabs. 

Crabs of either sex move sideways when entering the burrow, and 
the males usually have the large chela uppermost as they disappear. 
The holes are, as a rule, of uniform diameter, though they may be 
slightly enlarged at the bottom, and often turn so as to take a hori- 
zontal direction. They vary in depth from about 16 to 75 cen- 
timeters, and usually have water standing in the deeper parts, even 


when the tide is out. 
PLACE ASSOCIATION. 


A fiddler usually does not wander more than a meter or two from his 
hole, and is ever ready to dart into it at the slightest provocation. 
Occasionally, however, a crab roves as much as 12 meters from his 
home and returns. Once in the Philippines a Uca marionis nitida left 
its burrow and dug a new one 4.5 meters away; another individual 
moved his dwelling place 2.4 meters; but such cases were unusual. 
Most crabs showed a strong preference for a particular locality. 
Place association is also manifest when fiddlers carry mud from their 
burrows. Successive loads are not cast aside anywhere, but are usu- 
ally carried to a particular spot and laid in a pile. 

A number of crabs were snared and moved various distances from 
their holes to see if they would return. If the space was less than 
2 meters, they usually came back at once. At greater distances some 
crabs dug new holes and reestablished themselves, even though they 
were in plain sight of their old homes; others tried to return home, 
and were not able to do so, It is by no means easy for a strange 
fiddler to make his way through a densely populated portion of a 
colony. He is set upon by every crab whose hole he approaches, and 
may lose his claw or even his life in such an engagement. An indi- 
vidual put down in strange surroundings acts shy and timid, Not- 
withstanding the difficulties, however, some crabs returned after sev- 
eral days to the hole they had previously occupied. One individual 
was moved 6 meters, and returned after 23 days to within 30 centime- 
ters of his old home, which had been filled up by the tides in the 
meantime, 


420 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913, 
FEEDING. 


Female fiddler crabs feed by scooping up mud with the hairy 
spoonlike fingers of the chelipeds and carrying it to the mouth, the 
two hands alternating rapidly. The males use only the small cheli- 
ped when feeding. The feeding appendages are well suited for the 
work they have to do. Their fingers are flattened and hollowed in 
such a way that they form admirable dredges for carrying mud to 
the mouth. Crabs seldom try to feed when the flats are dry and 
are most active when the tide is falling. The mouth parts sort over 
the mud which is scooped up and a mass of rejected material collects 
below them to drip down or be wiped away now and then by a 
cheliped. 


Fig. 6.—MALE FIDDLERS FIGHTING. 
Drawn by Tom Jones. 


An examination of the stomachs of several fiddlers showed that 
the diet is largely vegetarian. The food consists mostly of small 
alge sifted from the mud. But fiddlers, like most crabs, will eat 
nearly anything that is cast upon the beach—dead fish, dead crabs, 
plants, ete. 

DEFENSE AND OFFENSE. 


A fiddler crab lives on a beach crowded among vast numbers of 
his fellows, but his intercourse with them shows no development of 
social instincts. He has selected his most suitable habitat, and the 
fact that he is surrounded by hundreds or thousands of his own kind 
is more or less incidental. Each fiddler searches the mud around his 
hole for food, and “ his hand is against every man.” He-is ever ready 


HABITS OF FIDDLER CRABS——PEARSE. 421 


to dart into his burrow, and if danger threatens he quickly retreats 
to this refuge. If one of his fellows encroaches on his domain, how- 
ever, he rushes forth and enters into fierce combat. Each crab makes 
his hole the center from which his activities are conducted, and he 
treats the approach of any intruder as an unfriendly act. 

Though combats between two males are most frequent, males some- 
times fight with females, and members of the weaker sex not in- 
frequently struggle with each other. If two males that differ 
markedly in size fight, the larger combatant usually takes little 
interest in the fight and soon makes off, even though he may be hotly 
pursued by his smaller antagonist. When a smaller fiddler trespasses 
on a larger crab’s territory, however, he is soon chased away. The 
most spirited combats are between males of the same species. 

In fighting (fig. 6), the males face each other and often dance 
about excitedly, at the same time frantically waving the small chela. 


-o. 

SH 
Se ROT ct: 
ws ee 


X 


Fic. 7.—FIDDLERS DEFENDING THEIR BURROWS. 
Drawn by Tom Jones. 


The large chele are locked together, like two men shaking hands, 
and each contestant attempts to break off his opponent’s claw by a 
a sudden wrench. The strain is so great that when one of the 
fighters loosens his hold rather than lose his claw, he is often thrown 
backward into the air, sometimes as much as a meter. The writer 
has never seen the great chela used as a club in fighting, as Alcock 
(1892, p. 416) maintains, but it often serves as a shield to ward off 
a thrust. Ifa male gets the worst of an encounter, he frequently 
retreats into his burrow and guards it by extending his claw from 
the opening. (Fig. 7.) Sometimes one male catches another nap- 
ping and enters his burrow. In such cases the owner waits nervously 
about until the intruder comes out and then chases him away, or he 
boldly goes down after the intruder with his large chela extended 
before him and usually emerges soon after followed by the intruder. 


422 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 
PLAY. 


Some of the activities of fiddlers are like those displayed by higher 
animals while at play. Crabs frequently dart about without a 
serious purpose, and are sometimes downright mischievous. On 
one occasion a male was half-heartedly pursuing a female. She went 
to her burrow, secured a plug nearby, and shut herself in. The 
male then came directly to the burrow, seized the plug, and cast it 
to one side. The female was just emerging from her burrow when 
the writer ended the episode by frightening the participants by a 
sudden movement. Another time two males of medium size were 


seen running about for perhaps half an hour over an area about 12 — 


meters in diameter. They kept close together and acted like two 
mischievous sailors ashore. The tide was coming in rapidly, and in 
their rambles the pair came to a place where a large, slow-moving 
crab was carrying a plug to close his burrow. The pair waited 
until the plug had been pulled down, then one of them went to the 
hole and removed it; as the outraged owner emerged they scuttled 
away. To all appearances activities like those just described were 
carried out in a spirit of “sport.” 


MATING. 


During the mating season a fiddler-crab colony is an interesting 
place. If a female walks across the mud every male stands at the 
mouth of his hole and waves his big claw frantically up and down, 
often accentuating such movements by squatting and stretching with 
his walking legs. (Fig. 8.) Ifa female approaches he makes every 
effort to induce her to enter his burrow, frequently dancing or pos- 
turing before her. 

A courtship will be described, which was observed at North Fal- 
mouth, Mass., July 11, 1912. The male waved, and at 12.17 p. m. 
the object of his attention approached and went part way into his 
burrow. He rushed up and tried to push her in, but she resisted. 
He then retired 3 inches and stood motionless for three minutes with 
his claw outstretched in front, then sneaked up and again tried to 
push his prospective mate into the burrow. She again resisted, he 
retired, and both were quiet for two minutes. The male then ap- 
proached cautiously and stood motionless with upraised chela close 
to the female for three and a half minutes; then he again attempted 
to push her down, but without success. He then raised his claw and 
standing high on his legs assumed a statuesque pose which he held for 
10 minutes (I took his picture, fig. 9). The female, meanwhile, fed 
a little, moved away a couple of inches, then went part way down 
the hole. When the male again approached, she dodged, but came 


HABITS OF FIDDLER CRABS—PEARSE. 423 


back and entered the hole. The male stood over her for more than a 
minute, She dodged away, again came back, and the male stood over 
her again. At 12.42 he went to one side of the burrow, she to the 
other; and they stood thus for four minutes. At 12.46 the female 
moved away an inch, at 12.52 the male dodged quickly into his 
burrow, and the female went up to him, but a minute later she 
moved away several feet and finally went elsewhere. The male, 


SS 


S 


Fic. 8.—UCA PUGILATOR, MALE WAVING HIS GREAT CLAW TO ATTRACT THE 
ATTENTION OF A FEMALE. 
Drawn by Hattie Wakeman from a photograph at West Fal- 
mouth, Mass. 
however, was soon consoled, for at 1.02 p. m., he was standing at the 
mouth of his hole waving at another female. 

The male made no attempt to use his great chela in holding the 
female. After his first rush he had every appearance of proceeding 
with great caution—as if he feared a too arduous wooing might cause 
his prospective mate to leave. After every repulse he retired a little 
way and displayed his charms for a time before making another 


424 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913, 


advance. Apparently he was attempting, as Chidester (1912) says, 
to “ demonstrate his maleness.” In the Philippines crabs were often 
seen standing motionless with outstretched claw for as much as 
20 minutes. (Fig. 10.) Perhaps such individuals were looking 
for a mate. 


Fig. 9.—UcCA PUGILATOR, MALE IN COURTING ATTITUDH BEFORE A FEMALD. 
Drawn by Hattie Wakeman from a photograph taken at West Falmouth, Mass., 
July 11, 1912. 

Probably fiddlers copulate in the burrows of the males, but they 
have never been seen to do so. Experiments have been conducted in 
the laboratory, however, in which the mating activities were ob- 
served. Jelly glasses were filled with clean water to a depth of about 
an inch; a male and female were then placed together in each. Sey- 


Fig. 10.—UcA FORCIPATA STANDING AT ATTENTION, 
Drawn by Tom Jones from a photograph, 


eral copulations were observed under such conditions. In no case did 
a male use his great chela in manipulating or holding the female, 
and that organ was not used as a “ nuptial couch,” as some have sup- 
posed it would be. A figure has been published elsewhere (Pearse, 
1914), which shows the position assumed during copulation. 


HABITS OF FIDDLER CRABS——PEARSE. 425 
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. 


_ Fiddlers treat other animals with suspicion. Any large moving 
object causes them to retreat at once to their burrows, although they 
soon emerge again if the object is not near at hand. Most crabs re- 
treat into their holes when a man approaches within 15 meters, but if 
one is careful not to make any quick movements he may sit apparently 
unnoticed within a couple of yards of an active fiddler for hours at a 
time. Large adult crabs like Sesarma bidens are avoided, but small 
crustaceans of any species are at once attacked. Any strange animal, 
however small, is avoided; the writer once saw a small hermit crab, 
by moving quickly along the edge of the rising tide, cause every 
fiddler near to run for its hole. The fiddler’s burrow furnishes a re- 
treat from many enemies, and his speedy reaction toward it in re- 
sponse to all movements in his field of vision would help protect him 
from the herons, snakes, skinks, frogs, toads, and fishes that com- 
monly hunt along the shores of the estuaries. 

In reacting to its surroundings a fiddler crab apparently uses its 
senses of sight and touch most, although the recognition of chemical 
substances may be important in securing and selecting food. The 
eyes are very quick to note any movement in the landscape; they are 
held straight upward, except when their stalks are being cleaned or 
when a crab is entering a burrow. Feeding probably depends mostly 
upon the tactile and chemical senses, for the usual position of the 
eyes is such that the small chele can not be seen as they pass food 
to the mouth. Such loud noises as whistling, hand clapping, gun- 
shots, and locomotive whistles produced no apparent reaction from 
the fiddlers, nor did the stridulation of the large decapod, T’halassina 
anomala (Herbst), that builds its burrows among them in the 
Philippines. 

Although fiddler crabs live together in enormous colonies, they 
show no cooperation with one another, nor do they manifest any 
tendency toward such communal existence as that displayed by some 
other arthropods; for example, ants, bees, wasps, and termites. In 
this they agree with other crustaceans, for, though the animals of 
this class exhibit an endless variety of structural adaptations suited 
to various habitats and modes of life, none of them has taken advan- 
tage of the opportunities offered by a cooperative communal associa- 
tion among members of the same species (except in some instances 
‘in which the male is intimately associated with the female). Al- 
though the females of many species carry their eggs and newly 
hatched young for a time, the association of the young with their 
mother is nominal, for she never feeds or cares for them. The strug- 
gle for existence is nowhere more apparent than in the midst of a 
fiddler crab colony. Each individual jealously guards the area about 


426 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


his own burrow and immediately attacks any invader of this terri- 
tory. His pugnacity is ever ready to show itself against his fellows 
that swarm about him and against numerous competitors of other 
kinds that also seek to eke out an existence from the area he has 
chosen for his own. 

The fiddler’s chief competitors for the food on the beaches are 
other species of crabs, various smaller animals such as snails and 
worms, and some larger animals like fishes and birds. In addition 
to honest competition the fiddler must reckon with some larger ani- 
mals, which seek not his food but himself. Among these the rac- 
coons, herons, snakes, skinks, frogs, toads, and fishes are most 
important. 

The behavior of the fiddler is admirably suited to enable him to 
gain a livelihood and at the same time escape injury or death from 
his enemies. His aggressive attitude toward members of his own 
genus and toward other crabs of similar size keeps enough space clear 
about his burrow to enable him to sift his simple diet. from the mud 
in comparative safety. Furthermore, the way is thus left clear for 
retreat to his burrow if danger threatens, and the fiddler is not slow 
in dodging into his hole as soon as any strange or threatening object 
moves within his field of vision. His burrow is the center of all his 
activities, and his association for the place where it is situated is 
very strong. Fiddlers are protected from night prowlers by their 
diurnal habits, and they escape the fishes and snakes that hunt at 
the edge of the advancing tide by closing the openings of their bur- 
rows when the water threatens to inundate them. 

Although the majority of the reactions of fiddler crabs are stereo- 
typed and appear to be instinctive, yet they are open to some modi- 
fication. The daily life of a fiddler is more or less of a routine—to 
dig a burrow, to seek food as long as the territory about his burrow is 
clear, to attack small aggressors, to retreat from large enemies, to 
plug the burrow when the tide comes in, to open it when the water 
recedes, to retire during darkness, and to mate at the proper season. 
These are his ordinary activities, and they depend largely upon 
unvaried reactions. Some instincts are so strong that, although 
usually advantageous, they may be harmful; for example, place asso- 
ciation and instinct to retire into her hole was strong enough to cause 
a certain crab to remain for some time in danger when the burrow 
could not be entered and she might have escaped by running away. 
Nevertheless, a fiddler shows some ability to modify his reactions to 
suit circumstances, such as departing from his usual method of car- 
rying mud from his burrow, using different ways to plug the burrow, 
and in some other activities. 

A fiddler crab is able to establish a place association for a certain 
locality and to retain it for as long as three weeks. Some activities 


HABITS OF FIDDLER CRABS-—PEARSE. 427 


might be interpreted as manifestations of a desire to play. The in- 
stinct to fight males of his own species and size is very strong in a 
fiddler, yet this instinct is more than a “ fighting reflex,” for he is 
slow to resent an attack by a smaller male. 

Concerning the structural differences between the sexes, it may be 
affirmed that the great chela of the male does not serve for burrow- 
ing or feeding. In fact, it is rather a disadvantage in either of these 
activities, The great chela closes the burrow inasmuch as it fills the 
opening as a weapon of offense, but is not used as a lid or stopper. 
It is of no advantage during actual mating, but unquestionably 
serves as a signal which is waved to attract the attention of females. 
The great chela is of undoubted use to the male in combats with his 
fellows and in defending himself from other enemies. In this respect 
it is comparable to the secondary sexual characters of some other male 
animals, such as the stag’s antlers, the cock’s spurs, and the tusks of 
the walrus. Among higher animals in which the males possess such 
aggressive organs, however, the females are protected and cared for 
to some extent, but nothing of this sort is known among decapod 
crustaceans with secondary sexual adaptations (Uca, Alpheus, and 
others). Thus, although many of the crustacea have two adaptations 
which might fit them for colonial life—through the mother carrying 
her eggs and young for a time, thus having opportunity to start a 
colony with them, and through the aggressive adaptations of the 
males, which might enable stronger individuals of that sex to gather 
a number of females about them—their instincts have prevented 
them from developing it. 

Alcock (1892) believes “no one can doubt that the claw of a male 
has become conspicuous and beautiful in order to attract the female,” 
and that “it is used as a signal to charm and allure the females.” 
Though there are perhaps such minor objections to such a statement 
of the case, it is certain that male fiddlers do wave their claws, dance, 
and pose in the presence of females. It must be admitted, also, that, 
though bright colors occur on other parts of the bodies of both sexes, 
the great chela are always colored so that it is conspicuous. At pres- 
ent it is not possible to state just what part specific colors may 
play in attracting the females of particular species. The problem 
should be studied during the active mating season with special refer- 
ence to color. By observing the coloration of males actually chosen, 
by painting the chele of rejected suitors, by “ waving ” colored mock 
chele, or by other tests, a definite conclusion could doubtless be 
reached. Until such experiments have been made it can hardly be 
affirmed that fiddler crabs show the operation of sexual selection 
through color discrimination. 


428 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY. 
ALCOCK, A.: 

1892. On the Habits of Gelasimus annulipes Edw. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. 
(1892) VI, 10: 415, 416. 

1900. XVI. Materials for a Carcinological Fauna of India. No. 6. The 
Brachyura Catometopa, or Grapsoidea. Journ. & Proc. Asiat. Soc. Bengal 
(1900), 9 (2) : 279-856. 

1902. A Naturalist in Indian Seas. London, xxiv+328, 98 figs., 1 map. 

CALMAN, W. T.: 
1911. The Life of Crustacea. New York, xvii & 289. 
CHIDESTER, F. E.: 
1912. The Mating Habits of Four Species of Brachyura. Biol. Bull., 
21 : 235-248. 
DARWIN, C.: 
1874. Descent of Man. 2d ed., London, 672. 
Houmss, S. J.: 

1908. Phototaxis in Fiddler Crabs and its Relation to Theories of Orienta- 

tion. Jour. Comp. Neurol., 18, 493-497. 
PEARSE, A. S.: 

1912. The Habits of Fiddler Crabs. Philippine Journal Sci. (2, D), 7: 
113-133. 

1914. On the Habits of Uca pugnax (Smith) and U. pugilator (Bosc). 
Wisconsin Acad. Sci., Arts & Let., 17: 791-802. 


THE ABALONES OF CALIFORNIA. 


By Professor CHARLES LINCOLN EDWARDS. 


Medical Department, the University of Southern California, Assistant, Cali- 
fornia Fish and Game Commission. 


[With 10 plates. ] 


The abalone belongs to a family of marine snails, the Haliotidee, 
which has many representatives in the waters about Africa, India, 
Japan, and the neighboring islands. Six species and one variety 
have been described from the Pacific coast of North America, but 
none from the Atlantic coast. Under the name of ormers, sea-ears, 
or ear-shells, this gastropod occurs on the coast of France and among 
the Channel Islands, but the species are most abundant in tropical 
and semitropical regions. 

The abalone is of importance because of its beautiful shell, polished 
as an ornament, or manufactured into many kinds of novelties and 
jewelry. Gleaming with the iridescence of the rainbow and the 
aurora this lovely shell is fit to be the chalice of Eos. Pearls may be 
secreted around foreign particles accidentally, or designedly, intro- 
duced between the mantle and the nacreous layer of the shell. The 
mollusk Pholadidea may bore through the shell and cause the forma- 
tion of the blister-pearl, or we may bring about the same result by 
inserting a prepared form. Then the meat, either fresh or dried, is 
of much food value. 

Inthe commercial fishery of abalones, one or more crews are em- 
ployed, generally made up of Japanese, but sometimes of Chinese or 
American fishermen. The boat containing a crew is either rowed, or 
driven by motor, from the camp to the fishing grounds. The crew 
consists of the diver and his 6 assistants. When over the right bot- 
tom the diver is clothed with his suit, the helmet screwed upon the 
brass collar, the heavy lead breast and back weights adjusted, and the 
air pump manned. One man takes the diver’s signal rope, another 
the hose from the air pump, and the diver, with a net attached to a 
rope and his shucking chisel in hand, is assisted over the side, climbs 
down the short ladder, and drops through the water to the bottom. 


1 Reprinted by permission from The Popular Science Monthly, June, 1913, 
; 429 


430 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


If he finds the abalones plentiful, work is continued in depths of from 
20 to 65 feet, in four-hour shifts. The man on the boat with the 
signal rope in hand follows the course of the diver by the constant 
stream of air bubbles rising to the surface. When the kelp is thick 
one man has a knife on a long pole with which he cuts the seaweed 
and keeps the air tube clear. 

The diver finds it an easy task to detach the abalone from the rock 
if he pushes the shucking chisel under the expanded foot before the 
animal is alarmed. If, however, the diver hesitates and the abalone 
contracts its muscular foot a powerful pressure is exerted. One or 
two cases have been reported of the drowning of Chinese fishermen 
who have had their hands caught by the abalone and thus held until 
overcome by the rising tide. The diver secures a net full of abalones, 
gives the signal, and the mollusks are hoisted aboard and stowed 
below. The net, filled with about 50 green and corrugated abalones 
may be hauled up every six or seven minutes. During his shift 
below the diver gathers from 30 to 40 basketfuls, each containing 100 
pounds of meat and shell, or altogether 13 to 2 tons. 

At Santa Catalina Island, and later at San Clemente Island, in 
company with a Japanese diver, I donned a diving dress for sub- 
marine exploration. On one occasion the assistant failed to tighten 
the waist belt which is designed to keep the air in the upper part of 
the diving dress. The men at the pump worked with especial as- 
siduity, and as I dropped off the ladder the inflated rubber trousers 
turned my feet uppermost. Head down I went through 65 feet of 
water, and then, not in a position for quiet reflection, remained some 
moments before the Japanese assistants concluded that my signals 
were not being made just for the fun of it. After being pulled to 
the surface, reversed and relieved of inferior inflation, a successful 
descent was made. The submarine journey is a wonderful experience. 
The bottom of the sea seems made of grains of gold and silver, shim- 
mering in the penetrating sunlight. Upon the face of a precipice, 
large specimens of the green and corrugated abalones rest. The shell 
of each is covered with a luxuriant growth of alge, hydroids, and 
tentacled tube worms, which mask the creature from its enemies. AI] 
about are large fish which swim close and peer through the glass win- 
dow of the helmet. An enormous sting-ray indifferently floats by. 
One has a fellow feeling with these unfrighted denizens of the deep 
in the fascination of observing their behavior under natural con- 
ditions. 

In gathering abalones sometimes a crew is composed of six divers, 
who work without suits up to a depth of 20 feet, and some of them 
remain under water for as long as two minutes.: These expert swim- 
mers protect their eyes with glasses and wear cotton in their ears. 
They pry off the abalones with a shucking chisel, often filling their 


- ABALONES OF CALIFORNIA—EDWARDS. A431 


arms on the way to the boat. Every two hours they return to the 
launch to be warmed at the fire. It takes the united efforts of these 
six men to equal the catch of one diver in a suit. 

The abalone has a well-developed head and a powerful, adhesive, 
creeping foot. The shell is flattened, and the spire, which is such a 
prominent conical structure in most snail shells, is depressed and 
inconspicuous in this form. The last greatly enlarged whorl contains 
the body, especially characterized by the enormous columellar muscle, 
whose fibers run from their origin upon the muscle scar, or center of 
the shell, into the foot. Numerous contractile tentacles arise from 
the fringed epipodial fold, or ruff, around the base of the foot. The 
gills, alimentary system, reproductive glands, kidneys, heart, and 
blood vessels and the pallial and visceral sections of the nervous 
system lie to the left of and behind the columellar muscle and foot. 
From the mouth cavity the gullet leads backward to the enlarged 
stomach, which is divided into two compartments, and receives the 
digestive juices from the large digestive gland at the hind end of the 
body. Two pairs of salivary glands pour their secretions into the 
buccal cavity. The intestine runs anteriorly to the side of the head, 
there turns on itself, and proceeds back to the stomach, where it again 
goes forwardypassing through the ventricle of the heart, to terminate 
in the anus, which opens into the gill cavity. The shell is perforated 
toward the left by a series of openings lying above a slit in the mantle 
fold leading into the gill cavity, whence issues a stream bearing the 
excrement, respiratory, and excretory wastes. Three tentacular proc- 
esses from the edges of the mantle cleft project through these holes. 
As the animal grows the apertures/in the shell behind the respiratory 
cavity are closed up and new ones are formed at the anterior edge. 

The head terminates in a short snout, on either side of which is a 
somewhat slender olfactory tentacle, and slightly lateral to this a 
shorter and broader optic tentacle. Two elongated ganglia lying 
above the mouth cavity may be called the brain, because they form 
the center for nerves from the eyes, olfactory tentacles, snout, lips, 
and other parts of the head. The eye is a simple cup-shaped depres- 
sion of the epithelium on the end of the tentacle. The cup is filled 
with a gelatinous lens and it has clear and pigmented retinal cells 
connected with fibrils from the optic nerve. The shadow of a hand 
passing over the abalone in an aquarium causes the animal to con- 
tract the head end of the body. Hence the abalone differentiates 
various intensities of light, and thus possesses a primitive sense of 
sight. The contractile tentacles running out in every direction from 
the ruff are end organs of touch. Each has a nerve connected with 
either the right or left pedal cord. These two centers of innervation 
run through the middle of the foot for the greater part of its length 
and are connected by cross fibers. They not only receive stimuli 


432 ANNUAL REPOkT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


from the sense organs of the ruff, but govern the multitude of muscle 
fibers which form the foot. 

Scattered all over the exposed parts of the body are long spindle- 
shaped cells which may respond to such mechanical and chemical 
stimuli as to make of them indefinite end organs of touch and smell. 
In the floor of the mantle cavity a water-testing sense organ, the 
osphradium, extends along the base of each gill. The cells of this 
simple end-organ are chemically stimulated in such manner that the 
abalone has sensations of smell, warning it to shut off the incurrent 
water when foul or containing some poisonous matter. 

If a piece of kelp is held motionless in front of the body, the ani- 
mal soon responds by reaching out the cleft anterior portion of the 
foot. These fingerlike processes grasp the seaweed and pull it back 
beneath the mouth and foot, where it is firmly held. Cells in the 
mucous lining of the mouth cavity are stimulated so that the animal 
gets the sensation of taste. Covering the tongue is a long horny, 
filelike structure, the radula, with many thousands of chitinous teeth 
symmetrically arranged in transverse and longitudinal rows. The 
teeth are pointed backward, and as the tongue is thrust out and drawn 
in the radula rasps a hole in the succulent kelp, carrying the frag- 
ments of food to the opening of the gullet. Two chitingus jaws, one 
at either side within the mouth, but united in the midline, serve as 
scrapers to hold back in the mouth cavity the particles of food ad- 
hering to the radula. This method of feeding abalones individually 
by hand is of importance in easily caring for the animals in confine- 
ment in aquaria or in inclosed pools or live boxes in marine farming. 

As food the abalone is one of the best of our marine mollusks. De- 
tached from the shell, the visceral mass and mantle fringe are 
trimmed off from the large central muscle, which is then cut trans- 
versely into slices. These small steaks, when beaten four or five 
times with the flat side of a meat cleaver and then fried in butter, 
are tender and delicious. The meat is also equally delectable when 
served as a chowder or minced. Besides supplying the local market 
the mollusks may be shipped across the continent, for when individ- 
uals are placed one on top of the other, in a sort of a living nest, they 
will survive for as long as six days without water, feeding upon the 
organisms and organic slime covering the shells upon which they 
rest. While the American market is not sufficiently developed to 
create an active demand for fresh abalones yet in a dried state many 
are shipped to China. After being gathered from the rocks by the 
diver and taken into camp, the shells are removed and the abalones 
thrown into vats of salt water and left for two or three days. In 
this manner, the pigmented mantle fringe is removed and the meat 
preserved. The abalones are next washed in large tubs by means of 
wooden paddles and then cooked for one half hour in water almost 


ABALONES OF CALIFORNIA—-EDWAEDS. 433 


at the boiling temperature not only for sterilization, but to give the 
meat the desired rounded shape. With dipnets the Japanese work- 
men remove the abalones to baskets and carry them to the drying 
frames, where they are laid out in trays in the sunshine. After four 
or five days, or longer, if the temperature falls, the partly dried 
abalones are cooked in water for the second time for one hour. Next 
they are smoked in charcoal smoke for from 12 to 24 hours, and then 
for the third time placed in boiling water mainly for rinsing. Now 
they are dried for a period of six weeks and after a final cleansing 
bath in luke-warm water made ready for shipment. During the 
process of drying the meat loses nine-tenths of its original weight. 
While hard and tough, like dried beef, it may be sliced with a sharp 
knife and eaten with relish. When dried the meat brings from 12 to 
14 cents a pound for the green and corrugated species, and from 8 to 
10 cents for the black abalone. Most of the dried abalone goes to 
China and there finally, at retail, brings 75 cents per pound. A camp 
of 14 Japanese fishermen brings in 30 tons or more of the fresh 
abalone in a month. There is considerable business in canning 
abalone for the California markets as well as for New York and 
Honolulu. The abalone of Japan, the awabi, is a smaller species and 
the holes of the shell are relatively large, so that only the central 
part is of value, chiefly for use in inlaying. Gathering abalones is 
especially carried on by women divers, who swim out to the fishing 
grounds and work in depths of from 6 to 8 fathoms. Pearls are not 
often found, but the meat is dried and sold as dark red disks strung 
on sticks. 

The familiar polished abalone shells have gone all over the world 
and everywhere are highly esteemed as ornaments. The shell is pol- 
ished by grinding it first on a carborundum wheel until the desired 
colors are reached. The shell is then surfaced by a wheel of felt 
sprinkled with carborundum dust glued to the wheel. Finally it is 
polished with a wheel made of many layers of cotton on the edges of 
which tripoli has been rubbed. This wheel is revolved about twenty- 
two hundred times per minute. The quality of being easy, or hard, 
to grind and polish is spoken of by the manufactures as the texture 
of the shell. 

The shells are sorted into two classes, but ordinarily classes 1 and 
2 are mixed together. At Avalon, in 1870, when the meat sold for 
5 cents a pound, the green shells brought $80 a ton. At the present 
time the green shells are sold at $125 to $180 a ton, the black at $80 
to $100 a ton, and the red at $40 to $75 a ton. The black shells, with 
especially good pearly centers, bring from $300 to $500 a ton. Owing 
to the increasing scarcity of good green shells there is a growing 
tendency to use the centers of the red shells for jewelry. 


44863°—sMm 1913——28 


434 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


When the shells are cut into ornaments, as many as 15 pieces, in- 
cluding one scimitar-shaped paper knife made from the lip, or rim, 
may be produced from one shell of about 22 inches in circumference. 
At an average retail price of 50 cents for each of these pieces the 
products of the shell would realize $7.50. 

The blister pearls are more or less extended elevations of the inner, 
pearly layer of the shell, formed by the secreting cells of the mantle 
in defense of the invading, boring mollusk, Pholadidea parva. They 
occur mostly in the red abalone, with only one blister pearl in about 
1,000 shells of the green or black species. A crab, which infests the 
abalone at certain seasons, may be the cause of such formations, and 
one exhibited the complete outline of such a crab. Frequently the 
blister pearls are formed over sea-urchin spines, chiton, or razor-clam 
shells, pebbles, and other foreign bodies retained beneath the mantle. 
Sometimes a diseased visceral hump is cut off and covered by nacre, 
making a huge blister pearl. 

The free pearls have the color of the inside layer of the shell, vary- 
ing from white to green or pink, according to the species. They sell 
from 50 cents for the smaller ones to $125 for one of 25 grains. 
Occasional pearls are so large and of such fine quality as to sell 
for five hundred or even one thousand dollars. The free pearls are 
frequently found within the stomach. During the year 1912 over 
§6,000 blister pearls and 4,000 free pearls were obtained from the 
abalone fishermen. 

The origin of pearls has been a matter for speculation during many 
centuries. As related in ancient folklore, the pearl oyster, rising to 
the surface of the sea in the early morning, opens wide the valves 
of its shell, so that dewdrops may fall within. Under the influence 
of the air and warm sunshine lustrous pearls develop from these 
glistening drops of dew. The pearls are white when the weather is 
fair, but dark if it is cloudy. This belief was held from the first 
to the fifteenth centuries, when the theory was advanced that the 
eges of the pearl oyster serve as nuclei for pearls. About the middle 
of the sixteenth century Rondelet concluded that pearls form from 
diseased concretions, and then, in 1600, Anselmus de Boot demon- 
strated that they are made of the same substance as the shell. Réau- 
mur, in 1717, showed by aid of the microscope that the pearl is com- 
posed of concentric layers of nacre, which we now know serve as 
minute prisms to split up the white light into the rainbow tints so 
beautiful when reflected from the surface of the pearl. In the mid- 
dle of the nineteenth century from an investigation of the fresh- 
water mussels of Turin Lake, Filippe proved that the stimulus for 
pearl formation in that species is a trematode worm. Other natural- 
ists, Kiichenmeister, 1856; Mobius, 1857; Kelaart and Humbert, 1859 ; 
Garner, 1871; Dubois, 1901; and Giard, 1903, have contributed to 


ABALONES OF CALIFORNIA—-EDWARDS. 435 


our knowledge of the origin of pearls from parasitic nuclei. In 
1902 Jameson traced the life history of a Distomuwm from its first 
host, a duck, to a clam, as its second host, and he succeeded in inocu- 
lating the edible mussel, Mytilus, by placing it with parasitically 
infected mollusks, and thus artificially induced the formation of 
pearls. Herdman, in 1903, found in the pearl oysters of Ceylon that 
a tapeworm larval cyst may become a pearl nucleus, or that in some 
- cases the secretions may be deposited around sand grains, bits of mud, 
or a fish or some other small animal, in pockets of the mantle epi- 
dermis, or again about calco-spherules near the muscle insertions. 
The surface finally becomes polished, or takes the “ orient,” and thus 
reflects the opaline and nacreous tints so highly prized. 

The production of culture pearls dates back to the fourteenth cen- 
tury in China, and it is probable that the Arabs had a similar in- 
dustry. The Chinese open the shell of the river mussel, push back 
the mantle, and introduce metal images of Buddha, which are covered 
with nacre in the course of six months. Linné drilled a hole through 
the shell and inserted a pellet of limestone on the end of a silver 
wire, so that the nucleus might be kept free from the shell during the 
secretion of nacre. In more recent times the secretion of culture 
pearls has been induced in pear! oysters by similar methods in vari- 
ous countries. Bouton, in 1897, at Roscoff, France, bored small holes 
through the shell of the abalone, and inserted forms made of mother- 
of-pearl. After some months beautiful pearls were secreted, their 
size being in proportion to the length of time of the culture. 

In our red abalone a boring mollusk, Pholadidea, penetrates the 
shell from the outside. It files its way by means of sharp teeth on its 
shell, and possibly by the secretion of sulphuric acid. The burrow 
enlarges as the Pholadidea, growing in size, digs its way in. When 
near the inner pearly layer of the abalone shell the host resists the 
oncoming Pholadidea by secreting more nacreous matter. Thus the 
defensive wall, eaten by the Pholadidea, grows inwardly as a mound- 
shaped projection, the blister pearl. In imitation of this natural 
process a hole is drilled through the abalone shell and a form is 
inserted. This form, made of shell, is shaped like a long-shanked 
collar button, and so placed that the expanded curved base lies 
against the pearl-secreting mantle. The shank projects from the 
outer surface of the abalone shell and is there made fast by alumi- 
num wire, to which a metal tag bearing the serial number is attached. 
In some cases the wire has corroded, with the loss of the tag. In 
later experiments the numbers have been filed upon the shell. The 
black abalone has been used in most cases, although a few experi- 
ments have been made upon the green abalone. Holes have been 
drilled through various parts of the shell and different numbers of 
forms inserted. In addition, spherical forms, without shanks, have 


436 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


been placed beyond the mantle cavity near the visceral hump. I have — 
succeeded in raising abalone culture pearls in 183 days. These pearls, — 
however, are thin layers of nacre, formed over a horny basis, which 
is the first material to be secreted. In the natural process of con- 
tinued deposition they increase in thickness and solidity, and conse- 
quently in value. One produced in a green abalone in seven months 
shows good form and luster. My average time for drilling a hole in 
the abalone shell, inserting the form, and wiring it in place with the 
numbered metal tag is eight minutes. This working time might be 
decreased by an expert laborer doing nothing else, so that the busi- 
ness of raising pearls would be of interest and profit. Mr. C. B. 
Linton has succeeded in producing similar culture pearls by drilling 
a hole through the shell center, pushing in a round ball made from 
shell, and filling the outside end of the hole with beeswax and cement. 

Based upon the fact that each ton of abalone shells represents a 
certain value of manufactured jewelry and novelties, it is possible to 
estimate the value of the abalone industry. Shells of the black aba- 
lone are sorted into two classes. Each ton of those with fine, pearly 
centers will make novelties and jewelry worth, at retail, $4,000. The 
class known as button shells, with plain mother-of-pearl surface, rep- 
resents a final value of $1,000, and the shells of the green abalone 
$3,000. For the fiscal year ending in July, 1912, the following ship- 
ments were made from Long Beach and represent the given valuations 
in manufactured products: Thirteen tons of pearl-center black aba- 
lone shells, $58,000; 40 tons of button black abalone shells, $40,000; 
14 tons of dried abalone meats, at $200 a ton, $2,800; a total of 
$95,800. The shipping statistics are not complete for the other Cali- 
fornia ports, but it is demonstrable that the abalone industry may be 
developed into one of great value. 

Much has been said recently in the newspapers concerning the 
threatened extermination of the abalone. That this is a real danger 
and not an idle theory is apparent to anyone familiar with the facts. 
For instance, near Avalon, Santa Catalina Island, not more than 20 
years ago the green and corrugated abalones were so thick that they 
rested upon one another four or five deep all over the rocks. After 
much searching in this locality during the last year I was unable to 
find a single specimen. The shells brought up by the divers of the 
glass-bottomed boats, and eagerly bought by the tourists, have been 
placed in position previously by the enterprising management. Great 
shell heaps on San Clemente, San Nicholas, and other islands prove 
the abundance of abalones during the centuries of Indian occupation. 
Some of the red shells found are unusually large, measuring from 
20 to 30 inches in circumference. Necklaces of large abalone pearls 
have been found with the remains of Indians. If only well pre- 
served, some of these pearls at present would be worth as much 
as $500, 


ABALONES OF CALIFORNIA——EDWARDS. 437 


In many places where the abalone was formerly abundant, the large 
individuals of legal size are taken and it may be true, as in the case of 
the American lobster, that in this manner the most prolific breeders 
are sacrificed. We do not yet know anything about the breeding 
habits and embryology of any species of the abalone, and hence are not 
certain as to the best months for a closed season. In time, without 
doubt, we shall be able to artificially propagate the abalone, as has 
been done with the oysters, clams, lobsters, and other useful animals. 
The Government breakwater at the mouth of Los Angeles Harbor, at 
San Pedro, has become a natural breeding ground for black abalones, 
which creep back under the great stone blocks and thus escape the 
gatherers, who are stripping every accessible niche and cranny along 
the coast at each low tide during the open season. 

Reservations have been established at Monterey Bay and Venice, 
but the present laws are inadequate for their best development. By 
act of the city trustees the Venice Breakwater has been made a bio- 
logical reservation, under the control of the marine biological station 
of the University of Southern California and guarded by a deputy 
of the State fish and game commission. As an aquicultural experi- 
ment I have placed colonies of several hundred black abalones and 
75 of the green species upon the submerged rocks. A large concrete 
live box has been suspended by a block-and-tackle hoisting apparatus 
at about mid height of the tide. The open top is covered by heavy 
galvanized-iron meshwork, while through several holes in the bottom 
the dirt is cleaned out by the flow of the tide. The box is so heavy 
that one may stand upon any part of it and do the necessary work in 
feeding and observing the animals within. Forty abalones under 
experimentation and for growth records are kept in the live box, and 
a group of two or three times that number might easily be main- 
tained in good condition. Near Venice the ocean is shallow, for it 
is 3 miles out to the 16-fathom line. The trawling of our motor 
sloop, the Anton Dohrn, has demonstrated that in most places the 
fauna of the sandy bottom is poor. Better results may be looked for 
when reservations are located on the rocky coast, where great beds 
of kelp thrive just within the deep-water line. The kelp is not only 
important as food for abalones, but within its wide-spreading fronds 
a world of living things thrive. In such a region the plankton is 
richer and these microscopic plants and animals generate food for 
the larger swimming and bottom-dwelling forms. 

The establishment of laws for the regulation of aquiculture and 
the concomitant protection of marine and fresh-water organisms is of 
primary importance. The formation of reservation districts for abso- 
lute closure during successive periods of years, within which we may 
have, every 5 or 10 miles, smaller perpetual biological reservations 
for breeding centers, will solve the problems of preservation in a 
better manner than the present laws for closed and open seasons. In 


438 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


Germany the Elster River pearl-mussel beds and in France the 
marine mussel and oyster fisheries have been saved and developed by 
proper legislation and governmental supervision. In this country 
the business of oyster propagation and farming has been profitably 
established under such well-delevoped laws as those of Connecticut. 
Jt would be difficult to attempt an estimate of the remarkable achieve- 
ment of the Bureau of Fisheries in the field of aquiculture. The 
shad, the salmon, and now the fur seal have been saved from ex- 
termination. So abalones may be raised in the sea as easily as 
chickens upon the land. The coastal waters must be surveyed for 
leasing by the State and then a police force organized to guard the 
marine farms from all the poaching pirates. Itcan not be emphasized 
too often that in direct ratio with the increase of population the 
neglected food resources of land and sea must be conserved and de- 
veloped. The company manufacturing rubber and fertilizer and 
extracting iodine from kelp should only be allowed to cut the sea- 
weed under such restrictions as will preserve the natural home and 
food supply of all the countless dependent organisms. The inherent 
tendency of man to rob the earth and sea in order to promote his 
own selfish interests must be restrained for the larger benefit of his 
‘fellows and the salvation of his descendants from want. The sea is 
the last great field for human exploration and exvloitation. We know 
so little of its vast resources that we can scarcely dream of the pos- 
sible future industries which will arise under a wisely administered 
system of aquiculture. 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Edwards. PrEATE: te 


THE DiveER GOING DOWN THE LADDER. 


IN Divina Dress READY FOR THE DESCENT. 


Smithsonian Report, 1913,—Edwards. PLATE 2. 


THE GREEN ABALONE SHELL WITH MASK OF ALGZ. BLACK ABALONE. 


Shell removed, showing visceral 
mass terminating in the spiral 
ececum posteriorlyand theopened 
gill cavity to the left anteriorly. 


OILFACTORY TENTACLE 


GULLET- — 4 (G9 (2 WW 7) FAI b—COLUMELLAR MUSCLE 


REGTUM — 


—EPIPODIAL FOLD 


REPRODUCTIVE GLAND 


seen =~ DIGESTIVE GLAND 


| > ‘ 
he SSS 
STOMACH” “WS SPIRAL COECUM 


GREEN ABALONE DISSECTED. 


The gills, kidneys, heart, and dorsal parts of mantle and columellar muscle haye been 
remoyed and spiral ececum turned oyer to the right. 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Edwards. PLATE 3. 


FEEDING ABALONES FROM THE HAND. 


a, b, grasping kelp with anterior processes of foot; c, drawing kelp 
under foot; d, eating hole in kelp. 


THE ABALONE DRYING FRAMES OF THE SAN CLEMENTE ISLAND JAPANESE CAMP. 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Edwards. PLATE 4 


DIPPING ABALONES FROM THE BOILING TANK. 


MEAT OF THE GREEN ABALONE DRYING IN THE SUNSHINE AT SAN CLEMENTE 
ISLAND. 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Edwards. PLATE 5. 


POLISHED BLACK ABALONE SHELL. SHELL OF THE CORRUGATED ABALONE. 


The unpolished posterior half showing in- 
crusting worm tubes. 


A PoRTION OF THE RED ABALONE SHELL WITH FOUR BLISTER- 
PEARLS AND TWO FREE PEARLS. 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Edwards. PLATE 6. 


SHELL OF RED ABALONE OPENED TO SHOW A RAZOR-CLAM 
SHELL FORMING A BLISTER-PEARL NUCLEUS. 


BLISTER-PEARL FORMED OVER A DISEASED VISCERAL HUMP. 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Edwards. PLATE 7. 


FREE PEARLS FROM THE ABALONE. 


The central pearl large and valuable. From the collection of C. B. Linton. 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Edwards. PLATE 8. 


a, black abalone shell with pearl form inserted; b, head of shell 
pearl form on inner side of black abalone shell; c, culture pearl 
formed in the green abalone in seven months. 


INTERIOR VIEW OF THE RED ABALONE SHELL OF THE GREEN ABALONE. 
SHELL. 


; The anterior portion polished. 
Showing pearly center within the muscle scar. 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Edwards. PLATE 9. 


THE CONCRETE LIVE-BOX ABOVE WATER AT LOW TIDE. 


THE JAPANESE ABALONE CAMP AT WHITE’S POINT, CALIFORNIA. 


‘GNV1S] SLNAW319 NVS LY dNVO ASSNVdvP SHI 


0) atVvald ‘sprempy—'€ 16] ‘Hoday ueluosy}iWS 


THE VALUE OF BIRDS TO MAN. 


By JAMES BUCKLAND, 
London, England. 


I saw with open eyes T saw in vision 

Singing birds sweet The worm in the wheat, 
Sold in the shops And in the shops nothing 
For people to eat. For people to eat; 

Sold in the shops of Nothing for sale in 
Stupidity Street. Stupidity Street. 


—Ralf Hodgson. 


NUMBER, FECUNDITY, AND VORACITY OF INSECTS. 


Man imagines himself to be the dominant power on the earth. He 
is nothing of the sort. The true lords of the universe are the insects. 
While it is true that man has invented and perfected so many de- 
structive agencies that he has attained to a predominance over the 
most fierce and powerful mammals and the most deadly reptiles, it 
is also true that in face of an attack of insects he and all his works 
are set at naught. 

“A little one shall become a thousand and a small one a strong 
nation.” Few people know how enormous is the number of insect 
species or how amazing is their power of multiplication. The num- 
ber of insect species is greater by far than that of the species of all other 
living creatures combined. Over 300,000 have been described, and 
it is considered not improbable that twice that number remain to be 
described. Practically all living animals, as well as most plants, 
furnish food for these incomputable hordes. More than this, Kirby, 
in the “ Introduction to Entomology,” devotes no less than five entire 
epistles to the injuries we sustain from insects, while two only are 
sufficient to describe the benefits they yield. 

The fecundity of certain insect forms is astounding, the numbers 
bred reaching such prodigious proportions as to be almost beyond 
belief. Riley once computed that the hop aphis, developing 13 gen- 
erations in a single year, would, if unchecked to the end of the 
twelfth generation, have multiplied to the inconceivable number of 
ten sextillions of individuals. Noting the preceding, Forbush says 
if this brood were marshaled in line, 10 to the inch, it would extend 
to a point so sunk in the profundity of space that light from the 
head of the procession traveling at the rate of 184,000 miles per sec- 
ond would require 2,500 years in which to reach the earth. 

439 


440 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


Kirkland has computed that one pair of gypsy moths, if unchecked, 
would produce enough progeny in eight years to destroy all the 
foliage in the United States. 

A Canadian entomologist states that a single pair of Colorado 
beetles, or potato bugs, as we call them, would, without check, in- 
crease in one season to 60,000,000. At this rate of multiplication the 
disappearance of the potato plant would not be long delayed. The 
chinch bug, a fecund and destructive pest, has been found in a clump 
of grass 8 inches in diameter to the number of 20,000. The progeny 
of this colony alone, if unchecked, would soon become incomputable 
hordes, devastating wide areas of the earth’s surface. Those of you 
who have been in South Africa probably have seen locusts in flight 
which filled the air and hid the sun. What a potency for evil lies 
hidden in the tiny but innumerable eggs of these ravening pests! If 
every egg was permitted to hatch and every young locust to come to 
maturity, the consequences would be too dreadful to contemplate. 

The voracity of insects is almost as astounding as their power of 
reproduction. The daily ration in leaves of a caterpillar is equal to 
twice its own weight. If a horse were to feed at the same rate, he 
would have to eat a ton of hay every 24 hours. Forbush says that a 
certain flesh-feeding larva will consume in 24 hours 200 times its 
original weight, a parallel to which, in the human race, would be an 
infant consuming, in the first day of its existence, 1,500 pounds of 
beef. Trouvelot, who made a special study of the subject, affirms that 
the food taken by a single silkworm in 56 days equals in weight 
86,000 times its original weight at hatching. What a destruction 
this single species of insect could make if only a one-hundredth part 
of the eggs laid came to maturity! 


MISSION OF THE BIRDS IN ORGANIC NATURE. 


Who or what is it that prevents these ravening hordes from over- 
running the earth and consuming the food supply of all? It is not 
man. Man, by the use of mechanically applied poisons, which are 
expensive, unnatural, and dangerous, is able to repel to an extent the 
attacks on his orchard and garden. Out in the fields and in the 
forests he becomes, before any very great irruption of insects, a panic- 
stricken fugitive. Neither is it disease, or the weather, or animals, 
or fungi, or parasitic and predaceous insects within their own ranks. 
However large may be the share of these particular natural agencies 
in keeping insects in check, experience has shown that it is lamentably 
insufficient. Then what isit? The bird. Bird life, by reason of its 
predominating insect diet, ig the most indispensable balancing force 
in nature. 


VALUE OF BIRDS TO MAN—BUCKLAND. 44] 
MAN AT WAR WITH. NATURE'S LAWS. 


Yet man has been engaged in the past half century in the blind 
and wanton destruction of this essential part of nature’s great plan. 
He has taken no thought of the needs of the hour, nor concerned him- 
self with the wants and claims of those to come. Within the space 
of a few years, under no constraint of necessity, he has carried out a 
policy of destruction more effective than that accomplished in cen- 
turies by the slow processes of nature. Armed with a weapon that 
annihilates space, he has constituted himself the master and the 
ruler of the animal world, and has delegated to himself the right to 
adopt a utilitarian standard by which he measures the value of all 
other forms of life. It is not for man to say what shall live and what 
shall be destroyed. The whole system of nature is in exquisite poise, 
and it is not possible to lay rough hands upon it without disturbing 
it in directions and on a scale which at the time may not be guessed 
at. If we remove or reduce the working power of one living organ- 
ism which acts as a check on another, the latter, freed from restraint, 
will inevitably multiply. As we destroy the insect-eating birds the 
insects on which they prey will multiply to scourge us as Egyptian 
plagues. It is a fact which agriculture has learned to its cost in many 
parts of the world. 


SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES OF BIRD DESTRUCTION. 


Some years ago the agriculturists of Hungary, moved to the in- 
sane step by ignorance and prejudice, succeeded in getting the spar- 
row (Passer domesticus) doomed to destruction. Within five years 
the country was overrun with insects, and these same men were cry- 
ing frantically for the bird to be given back to them, lest they should 
perish. The sparrow was brought back, and, driving out the hordes 
of devastating insects, proved the salvation of the country. 

In the island of Bourbon once, because of the same ignorance and 
prejudice, a price was set on each martin’s head. The birds all but 
disappeared, and grasshoppers took possession of the island. The 
edict of banishment was hurriedly revoked and the exile recalled. 
Fortunate, indeed, was it for the island of Bourbon that the bird 
was not beyond recall. 

During the year 1861 the harvests of France gave an unusually 
poor return, and a commission was appointed at the instance of the 
minister of agriculture to investigate the cause of the deficiency. 
By this commission the deficiency was attributed to the ravages of 
insects which it was the function of certain birds to check. These 
birds, it appeared, had been shot, snared, and trapped throughout 
_ the country in such numbers that but little repressive influence had 
_ been exerted upon the insects. It was concluded that by no other 


442 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


agency than the birds could the ravages of insects be kept down, and 
the commission called for prompt and energetic remedies to prevent 
the destruction of birds. 

For some years prior to 1877 vast numbers of red-winged black- 
birds were poisoned in the spring and autumn around the cornfields 
of Nebraska. This was done in the belief that the blackbirds were 
damaging the crops, especially the wheat. Great numbers of prairie 
chicken, quail, plover, and various other insect-eating species were 
destroyed at the same time by eating the poisoned grain. Then 
came 1877, and with it Nemesis. The locusts appeared in countless 
numbers. There were no birds to eat them, and Nebraska mourned. 

In 1895 the ravages of two species of cut-worms and some 10 
species of locusts produced a famine in the region of Ekaterinburg, 
which is in Russian Siberia. The local Society of Natural Sciences 
inquired into the cause which had permitted such a numerous propa- 
gation of insect pests, and reported that it was due to the almost 
complete destruction of birds, most of which had been killed and 
gent abroad by wagon loads for millinery purposes. 

Those grass ticks which now make the keeping of most breeds 
of cattle impossible in Jamaica, are not mentioned in the records 
of the early nineteenth century. The appalling destruction in more 
recent years of insect-eating birds, chiefly to supply the demands 
of the millinery market, has led to an inordinate increase of the 
ticks and to the dying out of all but Indian cattle. This correlation 
of birds and ticks—to say nothing of mosquitos and other insect 
plagues in Jamaica—was put fully and circumstantially before the 
secretary of state for the colonies by a deputation in 1909. 

E. D. Morel has recently pointed out how the reckless destruction 
of the guinea-fowl (Numida) in French West Africa is coincident 
with the increase of certain germ diseases, and, above all, with 
ravages to crops on the parts of the larger insects, especially beetles, 
the grubs of which were devoured by the guinea-fowl, which 
scratched them out of the ground. 

Though I could give a hundred cases similar to the foregoing, I 
must rely on the few I have cited to show that the wholesale de- 
struction of birds is surely followed by disaster to man. 


VALUE OF THE BIRD IN CHECKING INSECT IRRUPTIONS. 


When the Mormons first settled in Utah, their crops were de- 
stroyed utterly by myriads of black crickets that streamed down 
from the mountains. Promising fields of wheat in the morning were 
by evening as bare as though the land had not been sown. The first 
year’s crop having been destroyed, the Mormons had sowed seed 
the second year, and again the crop promised well. But again the 


VALUE OF BIRDS TO MAN——BUCKLAND. 443 


crickets appeared, devouring every blade of wheat, and the follow- 
ers of Joseph Smith were on the verge of starvation. At this junc- 
ture Franklin’s gull came by hundreds of thousands, and, feeding 
greedily on the crickets, freed the fields of the pest. The settlers 
at Salt Lake regarded the advent of the gulls as a heaven-sent 
miracle, and practically canonized the birds. 

Since that hour this black-headed gull has remained a faithful 
servitor of the farmers of Utah. At the present moment a move- 
ment is on foot to erect a monument to this bird in Salt Lake City, 
thus showing a befitting and seemly sense of gratitude for its in- 
estimable services in guarding the State from the ravages of insects. 

It is a common practice with all settlers in a new country to at 
once set about killing the native birds in a thoughtless and foolhardy 
manner. This stupid practice is all the more deplorable, because 
an enormous increase of insect pests invariably attends the operations 
of the pioneer agriculturist. Finding in cultivated crops new and 
more succulent sources of food supply, insects change their primitive’ 
habits, to swarm and multiply exceedingly upon the fertile fields of 
man’s creation. 

When the farmers in New Zealand began to break the virgin soil 
on an extensive scale, a certain caterpillar, which hitherto had 
gleaned a somewhat meager sustenance from the scanty native 
verdure of the open lands, disappeared from its old haunts and at- 
tacked the cultivated areas. So speedily did it increase by reason 
of a more favorable environment that it soon became a blasting 
plague. It came not singly, nor even in battalions, but in mighty 
armies which laid waste the land. I have seen these atoms cover the 
pastures in such numbers as to make the green one brown. I have 
seen countless millions of them pass out of one cornfield, having 
stripped every stalk bare, cross the road in solid phalanx, and pass 
into another. I have seen big mobs of sheep mustered in hot haste 
and driven to and fro over these serried ranks that they might crush 
them with their scurrying feet. I have seen every horse roller in 
a district brought up hurriedly, like steam engines to a fire, and 
drawn backward and forward over the crawling masses until the 
cylinders stuck fast in a mire of squashed insects. I have seen 
huge ditches dug in an attempt to stop the invaders’ progress. The 
effort was as futile as that of a child who builds a bank of sand by the 
sea, thinking it will stem the oncoming tide. Even railway trains 
were brought to a standstill, the wheels of the engines being unable 
to grip the rails owing to the hordes of caterpillars which were 
crossing the line. 

In time it became abundantly clear that if this disastrous condition 
of affairs continued it would be useless to attempt to carry on agri- 
culture in New Zealand. Realizing that any attempt which they 


444 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1918, 


might make to rid the smitten land of the plague would be but a 
mockery, the farmers turned their eyes longingly to the natural 
enemy of the caterpillar—the bird. But the native birds—though 
they had lived in closest companionship with the Maoris—had been 
taught the treachery of the white man in a school that reeked with 
blood, and those that had not been killed had retreated from the 
vicinity of the settlements, visiting the insect-ridden fields occasion- 
ally only. 

Wherefore insectivorous birds from the old country were intro- 
duced, and the one that multiplied most rapidly was the common 
house sparrow. And Passer domesticus soon cut short the career of 
the caterpillars. 

As digestion is exceedingly rapid in birds, and as they feed for the 

most part throughout the day, they are peculiarly adapted for the 
suppression of abnormal outbreaks of vegetable as well as of animal 
life. 
’ That formidable imported weed, the Scotch thistle, threatened at 
one time to overrun the whole of New Zealand. Much time and 
money was spent by the settlers in cutting off the plants close to the 
ground, and in pouring turpentine upon the split stumps, hoping 
thereby to kill the roots. Vain labor. The wind-driven clouds of 
thistledown, which were planting the weed far and wide, grew yearly 
denser and more frequent. At length the fields became a packed 
growth of prickly plants, which nothing could face. 

The sparrows took to eating the seed. In tens of thousands they 
fed on it, giving it the preference of all other hard food, and the 
weed was conquered. 

To-day in New Zealand the sparrow is looked upon as an impudent 
thief without a redeeming feature in its character. No one, of course, 
can say what would happen if the bird was dismissed from the coun- 
try, though it is probable that the Dominion would be again overrun 
with caterpillars and thistles. Setting aside this hypothetical ques- 
tion, the good the sparrow does must far outweigh the evil. This 
statement receives confirmation in the bountiful harvests with which 
New Zealand is blessed. Never were the sparrows more numerous; 
never the complaints against them more bitter; yet the yield of grain 
is without precedent. 

The growling of the New Zealand farmer at the sparrow justifies 
Virgil’s complaint of the “miserly husbandman.” Miserly, indeed, 
and blind. Not a grain will he give to the bird which has labored 
unceasingly with him for the production of his crops; but whole fields 
of wheat to the caterpillar. 

Parenthetically I may mention that, though I have written here 
in defense of the introduction of the European sparrow into New 
Zealand, I am not an advocate of acclimatization. It is true that one 
can point to cases where a foreign bird has been introduced to per- 


VALUE OF BIRDS TO MAN—BUCKLAND. 445 


form the function of a native species that has been driven out, and 
where that function has been performed satisfactorily. But, as a 
rule, such substitutions are fraught with danger. Birds so rapidly 
change their habits in new surroundings that few species remain 
loyal to the reputation for honesty which they enjoyed in the land of 
their origin. Like most aliens, it would have been better had they 
remained in their own country. Although the spread of civilization 
unconsciously demands some victims, man and indigenous birds can, 
speaking generally, occupy the same territory without much diffi- 
culty. If one requires proof of this, he has but to turn his thoughts 
to British India, where native birds of all kinds, owing to the protec- 
tion accorded them by the Hindu doctrine of the sanctity of all life, 
are found living in closest proximity to dense human populations. 

The moral of all of which is that it behooves every man who has 
the welfare of his country at heart to do all in his power to foster 
native birds. 

In Australia a plague of grasshoppers periodically visits the fields 
to devour the crops. The ruin they would otherwise bring on the 
farmer is averted by the good offices of ibises and other native birds. 
As a destroyer of grasshoppers, the straw-necked ibis (Carphibis 
spinicollis) has no equal among birds. Dudley Le Souéf, the director 
of the Melbourne Zoological Gardens, some years ago visited a rook- 
ery of this bird in the Riverina, and, after a careful estimate, came 
to the conclusion that the minimum number of birds breeding there 
was 200,000. He procured a number of specimens and ascertained 
by actual counting that the contents of an average crop of an adult 
bird were 2,410 young grasshoppers, 5 fresh-water snails, and several 
caterpillars, which, multiplied by 200,000, amounts to a total of 
four hundred and eighty-two million and odd grasshoppers, as well 
as vast numbers of caterpillars and snails. “Then, again,” says Mr. 
Le Souéf, “the average number of young is about two and one-half 
to each pair of parent birds, and the contents of their stomachs must 
reach an enormous total, as they all seemed gorged with food.” 

As this enormous amount of food is being eaten every day by 
ibises in Australia during the hatching time of the grasshoppers, 
some little idea can be formed of the immense utility these birds are 
to the farmer. Without them the balance of nature would be dis- 
turbed and successful agriculture would be impossible. 

In addition to its great value as a destroyer of all-devouring in- 
sects, the straw-necked ibis feeds with avidity on the fresh-water 
snail—the host of the dreaded liver fluke, which sheep so easily get 
in certain damp localities. 

Yet, in face of these facts, people surreptitiously visit the breeding 
grounds of these birds and collect their eggs by the cartload. One 
party in 1912, having gathered more than it required, drove away 
and left 4,800 eggs to rot on the ground. 


446 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


THE VALUE OF BIRDS IN FORESTS. 


Omitting all mention of many another notable instance of the 
quelling of insect outbreaks by birds, I will pass at once to the con- 
sideration of those perennial services which act as a constant check 
on the undue increase of insects, rodents, weeds, and other pests. 

Birds attain their greatest usefulness in the forests, because the 
conditions there closely approach the primeval. 

Forest trees have their natural insects foes, to which they give 
food and shelter, and these insects in turn have their natural enemies 
among the birds, to which the tree also gives food and shelter. 
Hence it follows that the existence of each one of these forms of life 
is dependent upon the existence of the others. But for the trees the 
insects would perish, and but for the insects the birds would perish, 
and but for the birds the trees would perish; and, to follow the 
inexorable laws of nature to the conclusion of their awful vengeance, 
but for the trees the world would perish. 

Consider for a moment the life of a tree in connection with the 
insects that prey upon it. At the very beginning, before the seed or 
nut has germinated, it may be entered by a grub which destroys it. 
Should, however, the seed or nut be permitted to grow, the roots of 
the seedling may be attacked by bettles. Escaping this danger, a 
worm lays its eggs in the cracks of the bark. On hatching, the worm 
or borer perforates a hole in the stem. This hole, admitting water 
from every passing shower, causes a decay in the wood to commence, 
from which the tree may never recover. Other borers feed upon the 
bark, eating the soft inner layer and the sap. The twigs are affected 
by the larve of certain bettles, which act as girdlers, sometimes de- 
stroying limbs over an inch in diameter. Weevils bore under the 
bark and into the pith, making excavations in which the eggs are 
laid. For the same purpose the cicada makes a terrible wound, 
which often proves fatal. The limbs of trees are affected by aphides, 
which puncture them and feed upon their juices, exhausting the sap. 
Many species of plant lice and scale insects infest trees, doing great 
damage, while over 100 different species of gall flies are parasitic 
upon them. The buds of trees are entered and destroyed by the larvee 
of certain moths, while the leaves are devoured by caterpillars. To 
take the oak as an example, it is known that altogether over 500 
species of insects prey upon it. Finally, be it remembered that in the 
bark and in the underlying tissues lie the vital energies of a tree. 

It is difficult to perceive the usefulness of these insects which feed 
on the different parts of the tree, though they may, perhaps, when in 
normal numbers, exert a useful influence by a healthful and neces- 
sary pruning. It is certain, however, that if they were not in turn 


VALUE OF BIRDS TO MAN—BUCKLAND. 447 


preyed upon by birds they would so increase in numbers that the 
tree could not survive the injuries they would inflict. 

How dependent trees are on birds for their existence may be 
gathered from the following illustration: As many of you probably 
know, trees breathe through their leaves. Consequently, if the buds 
of the leaves are prevented from developing, or are eaten, when 
developed, by caterpillars, the tree is weakened. Many coniferous 
trees will die if stripped of their foliage for one year. Deciduous 
trees, if deprived of their respiratory organs for several years in 
succession, will also perish, though these trees linger as a rule for two 
or even three years before finally succumbing. 

Now, injury to its breathing organs is not the only danger to 
which a tree afflicted in this way is subjected. The tree, being in a 
weakened condition, is at once beset by beetles and other borers, who, 
multiplying rapidly under such favorable conditions, tunnel under 
the bark until all the vital tissues of the poor tree are wasted. Thus 
a tree which might have recovered from the injury to its lungs falls 
a victim to the attacks of an insidious enemy which took advantage 
of its enfeebled state. 

Woodpeckers or other birds of similar feeding habits would have 
flown to the rescue of the tree and possibly saved its life; but when 
that corrective influence is missing, the tree must die. 

This illustration of the dependence of the tree on the bird and of 
the bird on the tree is, of course, but one of a long series that could 
be cited, and it is because of this most delicate adjustment between the 
tree, the insect, and the bird that I regard as profoundly true Frank 
M. Chapman’s statement “ that it can be clearly demonstrated that if 
we should lose our birds we should also lose our forests.” 

It is an ignorant schoolboy who does not know that if we lost our 
forests we should lose also the moisture necessary for the production 
of crops upon which man is dependent for his living. 

If, in his arrogance and folly, man exterminated the bird, thinking 
himself capable of taking its place, he might be able to make shift 
with his sprays to save some portion at least of his orchards and 
gardens; but of what avail would be his puny efforts to protect from 
the ravening maws of insects the forests of America and Africa, the 
jungles of Asia, or the bush of Australia? Should he not, then, 
protect by every means in his power every one of the forest birds, 
who, as a matter of course, and without trouble or expense to him, 
ordinarily accomplish, on his behalf, the herculean task of saving the 
lives of the trees? One would think so. Yet in these very regions, 
in these vast areas of valuable timber, every trunk of which man will 
some day need, there are being killed annually millions of the feath- 
ered guardians of the tree, and killed, too, for no worthier purpose 
than that, dead, they may defame a woman’s head. 


448 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 
THE VALUE OF THE BIRD IN THE ORCHARD. 


For man’s purposes the work of the bird in the orchard is not so 
thorough as that done by them in the forest. Birds are the slaves of 
nature, and, in the main, nature’s endeavors are put forth only to 
produce such fruits as will insure the perpetuity of each species of 
tree. With man the case is altogether different. His main object is 
not the propagation of trees, but the production of a giant gooseberry. 
Moreover, by introducing arsenical spraying, tarred and greased 
bands, and other devices to counteract the evil action of insects, he 
has, to a certain extent, taken upon himself the office of the bird. In 
this he is wise, for it must be admitted that if he wishes a large crop 
of fruit he must himself prevent the inroads of those insects which 
attack the fruit directly. It can not be expected of the bird that it 
will become an efficient ally of man in protecting the artifically pro- 
duced fruit from the attacks of the numerous insects that are drawn 
to the orchard by a vastly increased quantity of fruit of a vastly bet- 
ter quality than the natural product. 

For all that, fruit growers are largely indebted to the bird for a 
great part of their annual crop. 

In the Union of South Africa, for instance, it is found that near 
towns, where the birds have been more especially persecuted and 
driven away, the growing of fruit and other market produce has be- 
come increasingly difficult, or even impossible, owing to the preva- 
lence of insect pests which are not affected by spraying operations. 

But let us suppose for a moment—though the supposition is ab- 
surd—that the modern fruit grower could do without the services of 
the bird. Would that give him a right to slay it? Apart altogether 
from the agriculturist, what of the millions of people who, as an in- 
crement to their ordinary livelihood, grow fruit, but who can not 
afford either the time or the money to treat their trees in the most 
approved and scientific way ? 

What would happen to this poorer class of fruit growers if they 
were deprived of the services of the bird is best seen in what hap- . 
pened to Frederick the Great. This worthy, in a fit of passion 
because a flock of sparrows had pecked at some of his cherries, 
ordered every small bird that could be searched out to be instantly 
killed, Within two years his cherry trees, though bare of fruit, were 
weighed down with a splendid crop of caterpillars. 

Call the bird in the orchard an evil, if you will; but it is a neces- 
sary evil, and the fruit grower must make up his mind to pay the 
bird its wages lest worse befall. 


VALUE OF BIRDS TO MAN—BUCKLAND. 449 


THE SERVICES OF THE BIRD IN THE GARDEN. 


The garden is the insect’s paradise. It fares sumptuously every 
day on the most succulent of vegetable foods. Every opportunity is 
thus offered for its increase. The greatest insect enemy of the gar- 
dener is a small, dull-colored, hairless caterpillar known as the cut- 
worm, which is the larva of a Noctuid moth. This chief of the 
brigand band of garden pests usually hides during the day beneath 
matted grass or under the loose soil along the rows of plants. It 
comes forth at dusk to feed. The bird is abroad at the first peep of 
day, and it finds the robber worm in the morning before it has 
retreated to its place of concealment. 

But the early bird has to come stealthily to the garden to catch the 
worm. Its visits are regarded by man with more than suspicion, and 
it is fortunate if it escapes with its life. In consequence it snaps up a 
caterpillar and is off again, leaving thousands it would have eaten, 
if unmolested, to run riot amongst. the vegetables. 

Occasionally a bird more bold than its fellows will visit the garden 
in broad daylight to dig the cutworms out of their hiding places. 
Nature never having begrudged it the reward of its toil, the bird 
takes a few peas before leaving. 

The gardener notices the damage done to his peas, and next morn- 
ing is up betimes. He sees the bird running along a row of peas, 
stopping frequently to peck at something on the ground. There is 
a loud explosion, followed by a puff of smoke. The smoke slowly 
drifts away, to disclose a bird lying dead. 

Caterpillars are not gifted with voice; if they were, they would 
scarce forbear to cheer. 

The bird is dead. Mark the sequel. One fine morning the gardener 
issues proudly forth to cut his mammoth cabbage—the one with which 
he intends to put to utter confusion all other competitors at the local 
fruit and flower show. Alas for human hopes and the depredations 
of caterpillars. The cabbage is riddled like a colander. 

The gardener when he shot the bird forgot, if, indeed, he ever 
knew, that the ancient law forbade a muzzle to the ox that thrashed 
out the corn. 


UTILITY OF BIRDS IN THE MBADOW. 


Each season, until hay making commences, the grass offers cover 
and shelter for the nests of such birds as breed on the ground. The 
fields also provide food for birds, and for the insects on which birds 
feed. Thus there is established a natural interrelation and interde- 
pendence between the bird and its food and shelter—that is to say, 
the insects and the grass. This simulates the condition of the earth 
before man made discord in the grand harmony of nature’s laws. 

44863°—sm 1913——29 


450 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


Where the birds of the field are undisturbed they tend to hold the 
grass insects in check. On the other hand, when the numbers of 
birds in the field are for any reason insufficient, the insects increase. 

Here is an instance of this: Some years ago in Bridgewater, Mass., 
a great battue was held by the ignorant townspeople in the spring of 
the year, and so many field birds were killed that their dead bodies 
were plowed into the land for manure. The following summer 
whole fields of grass withered away and died. This was due solely 
to the fact that the number of field birds had been reduced, and in 
consequence the pressure which nature demands the field birds shall 
exert upon the field insect had been released. 

Again, at one time in New Zealand it was no uncommon thing to 
see English grass wither up in large patches, as though scorched by 
fire. This was due to the work of a crane fly and click beetle, the 
larvee of both of which were addicted to the habit of eating the roots 
of the grass, just under the surface. English grass was then com- 
paratively limited in the up-country districts, and, as there are large 
tracts of land in New Zealand destitute of native grasses, the depre- 
dations of these insects became a serious matter to those settlers who 
had stock to feed and who were relying on the English grass to feed 
it. It was all the more serious because the insects were without any 
natural check, the native birds which had kept them in subjection 
before the advent of the white man having been either killed or 
driven from the vicinity of the homesteads. So the beetles continued 
to make merry, to marry, and to multiply. In a corresponding ratio 
the grass continued to fade, to wither, and to die. 

Then came the English starling, and so voraciously did it feed on 
the larve that soon all was green again. 

A case similar to the foregoing occurred about five years ago in 
an inland district of Australia, where, owing to the ruthless destruc- 
tion of wild bird life, grubs took possession of the land, and, eating 
out the grass by the roots, transformed what had been a rich pas- 
tural country into an unprofitable waste. 

Without the aid of birds grass could not be grown. The grub of 
a single species of beetle, if unchecked in its multiplication, could 
destroy all the roots in our meadows; or any one of the several spe- 
cies of cutworms, if its reproduction was not restrained by birds, 
might be sufficient to destroy all the verdure above ground. 


HAWKS AND OWLS. 


The injury to trees, crops, and grass by insects is not the only evil 
that threatens man as a sequence to the destruction of birds. Rapa- 
cious birds hold a chief place among the forces which are appointed 
to hold in check small rodents, which breed rapidly, and unless kept 
within bounds are exceedingly destructive. Yet, notwithstanding 


VALUE OF BIRDS TO MAN—BUCKLAND. 451 


the unanimous testimony of careful students of birds and their food 
habits to the effect that almost all hawks and owls are beneficial, a 
widespread prejudice still exists against them. They are slain as 
relentlessly as if they were enemies instead of friends of the farmer. 

The destructive habits of the small rodents, which are the natural 
prey of hawks and owls, are much the same all the world round. 
They do an incalculable amount of damage to standing corn, to corn 
in the stook or when stacked, to grain, to root crops when growing 
or when piled on the ground or stored in pits, to orchards and forest 
trees, to the roots of clover and other grasses, to ground-growing 
fruit, and to gardens, both flower and vegetable. In addition to 
this list of crimes, certain rodents are active agents in carrying and 
disseminating the germs of plague and other diseases. 

Here in England—though on account of their small size and se- 
eretive habits they are often undiscerned by man’s dull eyes—they 
swarm in such numbers in the fields and hedgerows that the damage 
they do must prove a steady drain on the resources of the farmer. 

The number of small rodents eaten by the rapacious birds is almost 
as remarkable in proportion to their size as is the number of insects 
eaten by small insectivorous birds. During the summer of 1890 a 
pair of barn owls occupied a tower in a building at Washington. 
After their departure there were found in the regurgitated pellets, 
with which the floor was strewn, 454 skulls of small rodents, 

The young of hawks and owls remain a long time in the nest, and 
require a great quantity of food. During this period the resources 
of the parents must be taxed excessively in the effort to satisfy the 
hunger cravings of their offspring, and it is not to be wondered at if 
some individuals are forced occasionally to snap up a chicken. But 
what is the worth of the chicken, or of the young pheasant, occasion- 
ally taken, compared with the hundreds of thousands of pounds’ 
_ worth of damage that is wrought in the orchards and fields by 
rodents that hawks and owls, had they been spared, would have fed 
upon for the maintenance of their species? 

In 1885 the Legislature of Pennsylvania passed an act, known 
as the “scalp act,” which provided a bounty of 50 cents each on 
hawks and owls killed within the State limits, and a fee of 20 cents 
to the notary taking the affidavit. As the result of this act $90,000 
was paid in bounties during the year and a half subsequent to the 
passage of the act. An irruption of small rodents followed and did 
damage to the agricultural interests of the State amounting to 
$3,850,000. And even these figures, enormous as they are, do not 
represent the entire loss. Years must elapse before the balance of 
nature, which was destroyed, can be restored. 

In Montana the destruction of hawks and owls was so complete 
that rodents, freed from the pressure of their natural check, became 


452 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


as one of the plagues of the Book of Exodus. Then the legislature 
passed a law offering bounties for the destruction of these four- 
footed pests. During six months of 1887 such large sums were paid 
out in bounties for the destruction of small rodents—a work that 
the hawks and owls had previously done free of charge—that a 
special session of the legislature was called to repeal the act, lest it 
should bankrupt the State. 

In 1907 Nevada went through a very trying experience with mice, 
while Utah, Wyoming, California, and several States farther east 
have all had occasion to bitterly rue the day that they shot their 
hawks and owls. 

But the destruction of small rodents is not the only function of 
rapacious birds in the economy of nature. Several species are 
voracious insect feeders. Nor is this all. It is well known that when 
small insectivorous birds increase abnormally in numbers they, too, 
became a pest. Hawks and owls materially assist those other agencies 
of nature which act as a check on the undue increase of small birds. 
If rapacious birds were rigorously protected in this country we 
should have fewer complaints of the damage done by sparrows. 

Birds of prey, if unmolested, not only prevent the overproduction 
of small birds, but they also confer a salutory benefit on each species 
on which they prey by checking the propagation of weakness or 
disease by killing off the sickly and most unfit individuals, for these 
are the most easily seen and the most readily captured. This is particu- 
larly true of game fowl, and one of the most plausible hypotheses 
explanatory of the occasional outbreaks of disease among grouse has 
been the removal of this corrective by ignorant gamekeepers. 

Yet it is my belief that nothing but a miracle will ever make these 
men see the error of their ways. 

Some years ago, when lying in the sweet-smelling heather on a 
mountain side in Scotland, I pleaded for the life of the hawk before . 
one of its executioners. The gamekeeper listened in silence until my 
address to the jury, so to speak, was concluded. Then he said, 
“Ye’ve a cold i’ the heid.” I did not see the relevancy of this re- 
mark, but I nodded assent. After a pause, he added, “ Ah, weel; ye 
canna complain. The cold aye attacks the weakest place first.” 

Kaffirs say, “He who kills a hawk must be put to death.” 


THE ECONOMIC VALUE OF THE WHITE HERON. 


The destruction of the white heron for its scapular plumes has 
robbed half the world of a bird which is most useful to man. It 
never touches grain, but feeds solely near water and over damp 
ground, the breeding places of innumerable batrachians, small crusta- 
ceans, and pestiferous insects, all of which directly or indirectly in- 
juriously affect crops in the neighborhood. The presence of the 


VALUE OF BIRDS TO MAN—BUCKLAND. 453 


white heron in the rice fields, for instance, is distinctly beneficial to 
the farmer, and rice is one of the most extensively grown crops of 
India and of China. 

In Australia the slaughter of this and other wading birds for their 
plumage is causing in that country a decline in its fish resources. It 
is the destruction of these birds which has led to the ever-increasing 
multitudes of crustaceans which destroy the fish spawn and the young 
fish hatching out in the Coorong and in the lakes at the Murray 
Mouth. 

In his report on Egypt for the year 1912 Lord Kitchener stated 
that the indiscriminate destruction of bird life had allowed an 
enormous increase of insect pests, steps for the combating of which 
were to be taken. Lord Kitchener knew that in spite of the im- 
proved methods of fighting insects there was only one step that he 
could take that would be effective. A Khedivial decree was issued 
forbidding the catching or killing of, or taking the eggs of, Egypt’s 
insectivorous birds. In issuing this decree, two things were promi- 
nent in Lord Kitchener’s thoughts—the destruction of the egret for 
its plumes, and the fact that in the valley of the Nile this bird is one 
of nature’s checks on the cotton worm. 

White herons consume many flies, as well as the larvee of insects in 
water. This fact is well known to those who have watched the habits 
of oxen and buffalo in Asia or Egypt. There the smaller white 
herons—the paddy birds of India—live with the oxen or the buffa- 
loes, and pick the flies or the ticks from their bodies. 

The late George Grenfell noted once on the Congo how a dying 
white heron, which he had shot and put into his canoe, roused itself, 
even on the approach of death, to snap at the tsetse flies which were 
settling on his boatman’s legs. 


VALUE OF BIRDS TO LIVE STOCK. 


The injury done to domestic animals by biting and parasitic in- 
sects is very great. Herds of cattle are often stampeded by these 
tormenting creatures, which carry disease and death among them. 
Another great affliction is the warble, which is a small tumor pro- 
duced by the larva of the gadfly on the backs of cattle, and the con- 
stant irritation of which causes considerable depreciation in the 
value of hides, besides a lessened quantity and poorer quality of beef. 

Horses, sheep, and other farm animals are subject to the attacks of 
similar parasites and other persecuting insect foes. 

Tf it were not for the services the bird renders in alighting on ani- 
mals in search of these parasites, or in catching the flies on the wing, 
or in eating them in the embryo state, man would be unable to keep 
his live stock. 

More than this, man himself would be unable to inhabit many 
places on the earth which he now cultivates, or where he carries on 
other lucrative industries. 


454 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 
SHORE BIRDS AND DISEASE. 


Deadly maladies are carried about by the myriads of mosquitoes 
and flies that abound on the coasts of tropical and subtropical coun- 
tries. Yet the shore birds, which render invaluable services to man by 
destroying these venomous pests, are thoughtlessly killed by him in 
countless thousands. 

To his honor, be it said, one of the first acts of Mr. Wilson when he 
became President of the United States was to issue an Executive 
order prohibiting, under heavy penalties for infraction, the destruc- 
tion of any wild bird in the Canal Zone. 


GAME BIRDS AS WEED DESTROYERS. 


Unquestionably weeds serve a useful purpose in nature, but that 
purpose is not the occupation of cultivated land. Without check 
they would speedily choke all grain to death. 

' Constant use of harrows and hoes will do much on farm lands and 
in gardens to keep down weeds, but as most earth is full of weed seed, 
which retains its vitality for years, the life of the tiller of the soil is 
one continuous struggle against these troublesome plants. In this 
battle the bird is of great assistance, for the number of weed seeds 
eaten by birds on cultivated land must be beyond any assignable 
quantity. . 

| Game birds generally are the greatest eaters of weed seeds. They 
are also useful to man in several other ways. Not only do they de- 
vour mature locusts, but they scratch up and eat the eggs. They also 
consume in large quantities termites and other equally pernicious 
insects. The reckless shooting of game birds is to be deprecated. 
They are of far more use alive than in swelling the bag of the sports- 
man. 

The quail is perhaps the greatest weed destroyer of all the game 
birds. It is doubtful, indeed, if the quail is not more useful to man 
than any other bird. It is very nearly wholly beneficial. During 
spring and summer it feeds on many of the most destructive of in- 
sects, and in autumn and winter it eats an enormous amount of seeds 
of many harmful weeds. 

The report of the United States Biological Survey says: 

It is reasonable to suppose that in the States of Virginia and North Carolina 
from September 1 to April 30 there were four quail to each square mile of land. 
The crop of each bird holds half an ounce of seed and is filled twice a day. 
Since at each of these two daily meals harmful weed seeds constitute at least 
half the contents of the crop, a half ounce daily is consumed by each bird. 
On this basis the total consumption of harmful weed seeds by quail from 
September to April in Virginia and North Carolina amounts to 1,341 tons. As 


destructive insects form about one-third of the bird’s food from June to August, 
quail consume 341 tons of these pests in these States within those two months. 


VALUE OF BIRDS TO MAN—BUCKLAND. 455 


But perhaps the most valuable service that quail render the people 
of the United States is the greedy way in which—and they stand 
almost alone among birds in this particular taste—they eat the evil- 
smelling potato bug, or, as we call it, the Colorado beetle. 

In addition to this inestimable service it is partially due to this 
bird that the cotton boll weevil has not swept over the entire cotton 
belt of America, bringing ruin to thousands of human beings on 
both sides of the Atlantic. 


THE BIRD AS A SCAVENGER. 


The fishing population of these islands has declared war on the 
gulls, and is demanding the withdrawal of certain species from the 
list of protected birds, on account of the damage they are alleged to 
do to the fishing industry. People who believe fishermen’s tales are 
apt to be duped and led into repeated errors. The gull is a surface 
feeder. It may occasionally levy toll on useful fish, but to say that 
it does any appreciable injury to the fishing business is absurd. 

On the other hand, the presence of the gull is essential to man’s 
health. While the bird fulfills many useful minor offices—such as 
destroying larvee in land along the seaboard and in eating enemies of 
fish that are exposed during low tide—its chief function in the 
economy of nature is that of scavenger of the harbors and of the 
littoral, just as vultures are the scavengers of the mainland. The 
wholesale destruction of gulls for their plumage in Yucatan was 
followed by a great increase of human mortality among the inhabi- 
tants of the coast, which mortality was irrefutably due to the loss 
of the birds that had kept the harbors and bays free from the decay- 
ing matter which the sea is constantly casting ashore. 

I wonder if these men who wish the gull destroyed ever give a 
thought to what would happen to their own smelling villages if this 
bird was not present to eat the refuse they throw about? Or, again, 
if they ever reflect on that feeling of relief they experience when in 
thick weather they hear, through the fog, the clamor of these feath- 
ered bell buoys, warning them that they are nearing rock or bar? 


THE BIRD AS A GUANO PRODUCER. 


Now that I am on the subject of pelagic birds, I will speak of 
their value as guano producers. 

Undoubtedly the present enormous trade in fertilizers owes its 
origin to the bird, for the fertilizing properties of the phosphoric 
acid and nitrogen contained in fish was not recognized until guano— 
which is the excrement of sea birds mixed with fish—became a 
stimulus to intensive agriculture. 

The value of guano as a fertilizer was known to the people of Peru 
in the time of the Incas, though the nineteenth century had dawned 


456 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913, 


before the information was carried to Europe by Humboldt. Under 
the rule of the monarchs of old Peru the birds were rigorously pro- 
tected and the guano deposits carefully guarded. ‘Three centuries 
later these protective measures materialized in a source of revenue to 
the country. Generation after generation of sea birds had placed on 
their breeding grounds deposits of guano which, in 18538, were 
estimated by the Peruvian authorities to be worth $620,000,000. 

It is our pleasure to think of the Incas as barbarians and to look 
upon their times as dark and rude. In our own enlightened age man 
kills at one fell swoop over a quarter of a million sea birds on an 
island valuable for its guano deposits. 


VALUE OF WILD BIRD LIFE AS A FOOD SUPPLY. 


Under certain conditions wild bird life is invaluable to man as a 
food supply. The pioneer must—at any rate, at the commencement 
of his farming operations—live in great part on the wild products of 
the earth. In days gone by the forerunner of civilization could con- 
fidently rely on his gun to keep his larder constantly stocked with 
edible birds. Now, in many parts of the world, he is confronted 
with an alarming scarcity of this kind of food. The great straits to 
which the pioneer of the future will be reduced on account of the 
present-day slaughter of valuable bird life is foreshadowed by what 
is happening to-day in Hudson Bay. Fifty years ago the number 
of wild duck in North America was beyond computation. But man 
could not slay this bird fast enough to glut his blood lust. Sports- 
men, professional hunters, and agents of the millinery interest smote 
them by the million. Such blind and wanton butchery could have 
but one result. Ducks are now so scarce along the west coast of 
Hudson Bay, where there are no moose, caribou are scarce, and the 
fishing is poor, that the people living there, who had always depended 
on the ducks they could pack away in the autumn, find it difficult 
to get sufficient food to carry them through the winter. 


THE ZSTHETIC AND SENTIMENTAL VALUE OF BIRDS. 


Omitting all mention of various other material benefits which birds 
confer on man, I will, before concluding, notice briefly their esthetic 
and sentimental values. 

Bird life is the part of the creation in which nature has done more 
in the way of bestowing mental benefactions on man than in any 
other of her works. Unconsciously received, yet born of it, there is 
a spiritual teaching, an uplifting influence, in the study of birds 
which tends to make a man act more constantly from principle, which 
tends to give a new and a more wholesome tone to his whole life. 

The companionship of birds affords a happiness as pure, perhaps, 
and as permanently exquisite as man in his present state of being can 
possibly enjoy. Never came purer joy into my life than when, rising 


VALUE OF BIRDS TO MAN—-BUCKLAND. 457 


at dawn from my couch of fern, I heard the approach of the coming 
day heralded by a chorus of glad bird voices. Never have I experi- 
enced emotions which have so lastingly impressed my mind as when, 
in the inexpressible mystery of the darkened forest, with the stars 
drifting over, I listened to the sublime notes of some feathered 
psalmist, itself in night invisible. 

The world itself is but an outline sketch; it is the birds which 
fill in the details and complete the picture. Towered vapors of the 
summer firmament hang on the wall of the sky against a setting 
ef immutable blue; the trees are motionless; the glassy waters of the 
lake too idle to curve and break upon the shore. Nothing speaks of 
life or action. Suddenly, hitherto unseen in leafy tracery, a bird 
rushes out and up into the air, telling the sunshine all its joy. One 
can almost hear the mechanism start. The world begins to live and 
move. What artist is there who does not know this? Even when 
painting either of the two most majestic scenes on the earth—the 
ocean or the Himalayas—he adds this stimulating power to his 
- canvas, 

To turn from the palette to the pen, what poet is there who has not 
been inspired by birds? From the background of my memory a 
thousand instances of such inspiration come leaping forth. Shelley, 
Coleridge, and Longfellow, to mention three only of our singers, 
have been each rendered immortal in virtue of the power exerted on 
their minds by the bird. “Toa Skylark,” “The Ancient Mariner,” 
and “The Birds of Killingworth” are poems that are imperishable. 

The Mexicans felt the poetry when they looked upon the humming- 
birds as emblems of the soul, as the Greeks regarded the butterfly, 
and held that the spirits of their warriors who had died in the de- 
fense of their religion were transformed into these exquisite creatures 
in the mansion of the sun. 

Earth holds no joy to the eye more sweet than the sight of one of 
these living gems as it flits to and fro with the shrillest vibration 
of swiftly beating wings, hovers for an instant in the shade of a 
pendulous blossom, shoots out again into the sunshine, darts away 
after an insect, wheels round and round in sheer exuberance of 
spirit, returns to sip at the nectared cup, then flashes up again, glit- 
tering with all the colors of the prism, into its home in the air. 

Was all this beauty for no purpose but for the gratification of a 
passing fashion? Is man constitutionally unable to realize that in 
the beauty of these feathered jewels there is a value greater than 
the value that is entered in a ledger? Children gather flowers of 
the field, and, presently, their fleeting fancy sated, toss them aside 
to wither and die. But the seeds, the roots, remain. The daisy will 
bloom another year; the cowslip will stain the meadows yellow as 
of yore; but these blossoms of the air will never bloom again. 
Once gone, they are gone forever. 


458 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 
CONCLUSION. 


Birds unquestionably are one of man’s most valuable possessions, 
yet it is just the possession on which he sets the least value. 

Wherever there are birds whose plumage is suitable for millinery, 
there will the cruel and rapacious agents of the feather dealers be 
found engaged in orgies of wasteful destruction. Wherever there 
are birds that are classed as “ game,” there hastens the market hunter 
to kall, kill, kill, so long as any salable thing remains to be killed. 
Wherever there are species that have been harried by man to the 
brink of extinction, there will be the collector also, anxious to obtain 
the last lingering representatives of a race before his rival gets a 
chance to do so. Wherever there are birds whose eggs are valuable, 
there hurries the egg collector to destroy not only the embryonic life, 
but often the mature life as well by shooting the bird that laid the 
ego for the purpose of identification. Wherever in the wild places 
of the earth there are birds which are considered to be “ good sport,” 
there saunters that vandal of creation, the hunter of means and 
leisure, to expend on the most beautiful and the most harmless works — 
of nature his instinctive desire to kill. 

It is the nature of infamies, as well as of disease whose progress 
is not checked, to daily grow worse; and if the present-day wasteful 
and depraved practice of denuding the world of one of its most 
valuable natural resources is not checked, there will be wrought a 
mischief, a universal disaster, more awful in its results than words 
can express. 

Lonpon, 1914. 


EXPERIMENTS IN FEEDING HUMMING BIRDS DURING 
SEVEN SUMMERS. 


By ALTHEA R. SHERMAN, 


National, Towa. 


The experiments herein described were begun without intending 
them to bear upon the question of the food naturally sought by the 
ruby-throated humming bird (Archilochus colubris); the original 
aim of the feeding was to attract the humming birds about the yard 
in the hope that some time they would remain to nest there. The 
experiments have been conducted on independent lines without 
knowledge of any similar work that was being done by others until 
the autumn of 1912, except in one instance, where special acknowl- 
edgments are due Miss Caroline G. Soule, of Brookline, Mass., who 
in Bird Lore for October, 1900, described her success in feeding 
humming birds from a vial, which she had placed in the heart of an 
artificial trumpet flower made from Whatman paper and painted 
with water colors. This suggestion of using artificial flowers was 
taken, but more durable ones were made from white oilcloth, their 
edges were stiffened with one strand of wire taken from picture cord, 
and they were carefully painted with oil colors, the first to represent 
a nasturtium and the second a tiger lily. 

In August of 1907 upon the appearance of a humming bird about 
our flowers the artificial nasturtium, tacked to a stick, was placed 
near a clump of blooming phlox, and its bottle was filled with a 
sirup made of granulated sugar dissolved in water. The next day a 
female rubythroat was seen searching the depths of tiger lilies that 
grew north of the house; as she flew to the east of the house she was 
instantly followed, and was seen drinking from the artificial flower 
for the space of about a minute, after which she flew to a rosebush, 
wiped her bill, and rested a brief time before flying away. This was 
about noon. She returned at intervals of about a half hour for the 
next three hours, then at 3.10 o’clock she came back to search quite 
thoroughly the phlox blossoms, this being the first time she had paid 

1 Reprinted by permission from The Wilson Bulletin No. 85, Vol. 25, No. 4, December, 


1913. Copyrighted, 1913, by Lynds Jones. Read at the Thirty-first Annual Congress of 
the American Ornithologists’ Union, New York City, Nov. 11, 1913. 459 


460 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


any attention to them after finding the sirup. Ten minutes later 
she drank deeply from the bottle and was seen no more that day. 

In this way began the feeding of the ruby-throated humming 
birds, which has been continued each summer since 1907 with a vary- 
ing number of birds. The first season it appeared that but a single 
bird found the bottled sweets. Perhaps it was the same bird that 
came the following summer, and was not joined by a second hum- 
ming bird until the latter part of August. In 1909 the number was 
gradually augmented until seven of these birds were present to- 
gether. The following year there were days when again seven came 
at one time; since then four has been the largest number seen to- 
gether. 

The days and weeks are calm and quiet ones when a single bird 
has the bottles to herself. More or less fighting ensues as soon as 
another bird comes on the scene, and the tumult of battle increases 
with each new arrival until the presence of six or seven of these tiny 
belligerents makes the front yard appear like the staging of a ballet. 
With clashing sounds and continuous squeaking cries they chase each 
other about, often swinging back and forth in an arc of a circle with 
a sort of pendulum-like motion. Sometimes they clinch and fall to 
the earth, where the struggle is continued for many seconds. So 
jealous are they lest others share the sirup that they seem more 
anxious to fight than to drink. When seven are present they are very 
difficult to count, and appear to be threefold that number. We 
have read accounts of 40 or 100 humming birds hovering about a 
tree or bush. Clearly these numbers must have been estimates, prob- 
ably large ones, too, anyone must believe who has made sure that 
only seven birds have created the maze of wonderful and beautiful 
motion in which there seemed to be a dozen or a score of participants. 

The number of bottles in use has been sufficient on most days to 
satisfy the needs of all the humming birds present. Each new bottle 
has been added by way of an experiment. The first one was placed 
in an artificial flower painted to imitate a nasturtium, mainly yellow 
in color; the second flower in form and color closely resembled a 
tiger lily. The experiment with the yellow and the red flowers was 
to test a supposedly erroneous theory which had been published to 
the effect that humming birds show a preference for red flowers. In 
further proof of the fallacy of this statement the third flower, shaped 
like the nasturtium, was painted green, and was placed in a bed of 
green plants which at that time bore no blossoms. It was pronounced 
by other people to be “ exactly the color of the surrounding foliage.” 
It was staked out and filled on August 5, 1909, when no humming 
bird was in sight, but in about 10 minutes some of the species had 
come, and 15 minutes later one was drinking from the bottle in this 
green flower. 


FEEDING HUMMING BIRDS—SHERMAN. 461 


It was then suggested by my sister, Dr. E. Amelia Sherman, that 
I try a bottle without an encircling flower. The problem of support- 
ing a bottle without an artificial flower was solved in this way: The 
bottle was incased in a piece of unbleached muslin, enough of the 
cloth extending beyond the bottom of the bottle to allow the tacking 
of it to a stick. The support of the bottle in a position slightly up 
from the horizontal was furnished by a piece of leather with a hole 
in it through which the bottle was thrust, and the leather was then 
nailed to the stick. In this arrangement the most vivid imagination 
can find no suggestion of a flower. It was put out on August 8, and 
in 43 minutes a humming bird was drinking from it. The bottle 
was then moved from proximity to the artificial nasturtium and 
tiger lily, and a humming bird found it in its new location in 32 
minutes. This place about 8 feet from the artificial flowers has been 
its position in the four succeeding summers. In July, 1911, two 
more flowerless bottles were added to the group, making six in all. 
For convenience in referring to them the flowerless bottles will be 
called by numbers 4, 5, and 6. 

Bottle No. 4 had not been long in use before it was noted that the 
humming birds showed preference for it, while the nasturtium was 
sought least of all. This seemed due to the deep insetting of the 
bottle in the flower, which caused the birds to brush against its lower 
leaves, an unpleasant experience when sticky sirup adhered to it. 
For this reason the filling of the nasturtium was sometimes omitted 
for several days, whereupon the humming birds soon ceased to visit 
it, although drinking regularly from the tiger lily a few inches 
away. When the filling was resumed the birds returned to it as they 
had been accustomed. 

In the fourth season of experiments the bottle held by the green 
flower was put out when the others were, but was not filled for six 
weeks. During that time humming birds were present and drinking 
on 23 days. It is safe to say that they were seen drinking fully 400 
times from the other bottles, but never once were they seen to ap- 
proach the green flower. The first morning it was filled four of them 
were about the yard and one drank from this flower two minutes 
after the filling. The following year (1911) after dark on July 14 
the green-flower bottle was set in its bed of green and was left empty 
for a few days. About noon on the 17th one of the rubythroats vis- 
ited it, thrusting in her bill; the bottle was then filled for the first 
time that year, and in a half minute a bird was drinking from it. 
To this is added a transcript from my journal bearing date of July 
17, 1912: “About 9 a. m. before I had put out any sirup a humming 
bird was dashing from bottle to bottle and tried the green-flower one. 
It was bent over in the green foliage, and certainly has had no sirup 


462 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


in it for six weeks or longer. I filled it after I saw the bird visit it, 
and she came again to drink.” 

The new bottles No. 5 and No. 6, covered like No. 4 with white 
muslin and nailed to a weather-beaten fence picket, were put out after 
dark on July 23, 1911, but neither was filled for one week. The next 
morning about 8 o’clock a humming bird was searching one of these 
bottles for suspected sweets; four such visits were noted in one day 
and on several other occasions. At the end of the week the filling of 
No. 5 began, but no sirup was put in No. 6 for two years. During 
these years a record was kept of each time a humming bird was seen 
to visit and search this unfilled bottle, and the total number was 15, 
in addition to those visits already mentioned. 

Thus far this writing has been confined to a description of the 
things seen; no theories have been advanced, no deductions have been 
made, no hypotheses have been carried to their logical conclusion. 
The first deduction offered is that at the beginning of the experi- 
ments, in 1907, the artificial nasturtium may have led the humming 
bird to explore its depths, and, finding its contents to her taste, she 
returned to it. Other birds may have found the sirup there in the 
same way, yet it seems more likely that most of them were led to the 
bottles by seeing another drinking. This probably was the case with 
the catbirds that have drunk from the bottles on several occasions, 
although they have found it an inconvenient performance. Thesame 
may be true of a pair of chickadees that drank as long as they re- 
mained with us. They clung to the stiff leaves of the tiger lily and 
found no difficulty in the way of drinking. Only one humming bird 
learned to perch on this flower and drink from it while standing. 
From the earlier experiments it was suspected that the humming 
birds found the sirup through some sense, rather than stumbling upon 
it by chance or through imitation, but several things disprove such 
a supposition. The principal one is that migrants passing through 
the yard in the spring, but more especially in the fall, fail to find the 
sirup. That these migrants can be recognized as such by their 
behavior will be shown further on. 

The 25 or more visits paid to bottles No. 5 and No. 6 before they 
were filled for the first time show that the birds recognized them as 
receptacles for their food, though they were new bottles occupying 
new locations. To make sure that the birds should not be attracted 
to them by seeing me stake the pickets out, this work was done after 
dark. The first summer that No. 6 was out, frequent pretenses of 
filling it were made in sight of the birds, but no response followed. 
The next summer no such pretenses were made, yet a humming bird 
was seen to search this unfilled bottle on May 12 and 31, twice on 
June 1, on July 21 and 26, on August 4, 7, 12, 23, and 26. 


FEEDING HUMMING BIRDS—SHERMAN. 463 


One is led to wonder if the Homeric gods on high Olympus were 
more deeply stirred by the appearance among them of the youthful 
Ganymede bearing cups of nectar than are the humming birds at 
sight of their cupbearer. When several of them are present the 
wildest confusion reigns. Possibly not one of them is in sight when 
the door is passed, yet instantly the air seems filled with them; some 
swinging back and forth in the air, squeaking and fighting, or dart- 
ing from bottle to bottle thrusting in their bills as they pass, while 
an overbold one will buzz about my head, sometimes coming under 
the porch in her zeal for the meeting; but the timorous ones fly from 
their perches into sight over the bottles, then back into a bush. Some 
one of these types of behavior marks the bird boarder from the mi- 
grant. The latter pays no attention to cupbearer or bottle, but dili- 
gently searches each bunch of blossoms. For two or three weeks 
after the drinking birds have left there is occasionally a migrant 
among the natural flowers. The bottles are full of sirup, but it 
passes them unheedfully. 

Habits seem to change when steady drinking is practiced, but in 
the case of the birds the habit does not appear to be a harmful one. 
At once she ceases to search the flowers and, like the typical summer 
boarder, she sits and waits for the food to be served. Each bird ap- 
pears to have her favorite perch, a dead twig of syringa or lilac 
bushes on the north, or on the south in one of the snowball bushes; 
the telephone wires on either side of the street offer acceptable wait- 
ing places at times. Not infrequently I have been intent upon other 
duties about the yard and looking up have found a rubythroat 
perched directly overhead, her bright eyes seeming to say “I want to 
be fed.” So complete appears the cessation of the search for other 
food that it led to the keeping of a full record for the past three 
years of every time one of these birds has been seen catching insects 
or searching the natural flowers for food. Most of these instances 
noted were, if the whole truth could be learned, probably, cases of 
strangers just arrived within our gates that had not yet acquired the 
drinking habit. 

In 1911 the drinking birds were about our place on 43 days. Dur- 
ing that time on only four occasions was a humming bird seen catching 
insects or probing the flowers. A large number of plants called 
“ Star of Bethlehem ” had been raised, these flowers in previous sum- 
mers having proved a great attraction to the rubythroat in the yard 
of a friend living 2 miles distant; but our drinking birds were never 
seen to visit these flowers. After their departure strange humming 
birds searched them thoroughly, as well as the phlox, tiger lilies, 
sweet peas, nasturtiums, and clover. These strangers were present 
on 12 days. In 1912 the drinkers were with us on 77 days, and were 


464 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


seen but 10 times seeking other food than sirup, In 1913 for 49 days 
the drinking birds imbibed, and on nine occasions a humming bird 
was seen gathering food elsewhere. In the 169 days that make the 
grand total for the three summers, the rubythroats were seen drinking 
sirup between one and two thousand times; they were seen collecting 
food away from the bottles 23 times; but one can not be positive that 
insect food was always taken then. Never for an instant was one of 
these birds in captivity, and there was the utmost freedom for it in 
choice of food. 

This choice of a sugar diet, together with the large amount con- 
sumed, caused surprise, and soon called forth the estimate that a 
humming bird would eat a teaspoonful of sugar in one day. Some 
method of testing this estimate was sought, resulting in a plan for 
putting the bottles beyond the reach of the ants that swarmed about 
them. The stick that supported the artificial nasturtium and tiger 
lily was nailed to a block of wood which was submerged in a flowerpot 
filled with water. For a short time this arrangement served very 
well, until leaves and flower petals fell in, forming rafts upon 
which the ants were able to cross. No myrmecologist was at hand to 
suggest a remedy, but at last the aversion of ants to kerosene was 
recalled, and the water was covered with a film of kerosene, which 
effectually debarred them. Nevertheless, one day the ants were 
found taking the sirup as of old. An examination of existing con- 
ditions showed that a grass stem had lodged against the supporting 
stick, forming a bridge over which these wise little creatures were 
busily passing to and fro. Except when the bottles were isolated in 
this manner ants of various sizes and different colors fed constantly 
on the sirup, often crowding a bottle to its very mouth, but this did 
not prevent the birds from drinking. I am not prepared to say that 
they never took an ant as food, but I have stood as closely as is 
possible to a bottle while a humming bird was drinking from it, and 
none was taken at such times. When a new bottle was placed, or the 
old ones were set out in the spring and filled, it took from one to two 
days for the ants to find the sirup. A small red species generally, if 
not always, was the ant to make the discovery, the fruits of which it 
enjoyed for a very brief season, a large black ant soon taking pos- 
session and holding the spoils for the rest of the summer. 

The bottles, having been removed from the encroachments of the 
ants, were ready for the first test. One bird being the sole boarder 
at that time, a level teaspoonful of sugar dissolved in water was 
consumed by her daily. In time, two, three, four, and five humming 
birds having joined her, the quantity of sugar was increased accord- 
ingly, a spoonful or two being added to offset any possible waste. 
In this way more than a pound of sugar was eaten in 20 days, or, to be 
more exact, three cupfuls, weighing 9,252 grains, which made an 


FEEDING HUMMING BIRDS—-SHERMAN. 465 


average of 462 grains per day. This for the six birds frequently 
counted as present confirmed the first rough estimate of a teaspoon- 
ful of sugar daily for each bird. 

Another method of estimating the amount eaten was devised. 
On several days the sugar and the water were carefully measured 
and weighed, then weighed and measured again, after which the 
sirup resulting from their combination was also measured and 
weighed, until I felt confident that in a dram of the thinnest sirup 
served there were 40 grains of sugar, or two-thirds of a gram to 
every drop. But the sirup usually used was considerably richer 
than this, easily containing a grain of sugar in every drop; but it 
seems best in giving the estimates to keep them to the weakest grade 
of sirup ever served. ) 

In making the test a dram of sirup was measured in a glass grad- 
uate, and bottle No. 4 was filled. This was always done in the morn- 
ing, when the bottle had been emptied by ants. A waiting humming 
bird came and took her breakfast, after which the residue of sirup 
was poured back into the graduate, the bottle being thoroughly 
drained. Possibly a drop still adhered to the bottle, but the number 
of minims now in the graduate subtracted from 60 must have given 
very nearly the amount drunk by the humming bird. In two sum- 
mers a number of these tests were made. A bird took for her break- 
fast from 8 to 20 minims, the average being 15. Using the low 
estimate of two-thirds of a grain of sugar to each drop, the average 
breakfast held 10 grains of sugar. A better comprehension of the 
size of that meal may be gained by remembering that two large 
navy beans or one medium-sized lima bean also weigh 10 grains. 
Breakfast and supper were the rubythroats’ heaviest meals, but there 
were many luncheons between them. By reckoning eight to nine such 
meals daily (and beyond doubt there were that number), we reach 
again the first estimate of 70 to 90 grains of sugar as the daily ration. 
About this amount of sugar is held by a common teaspoon when level 
full; such a spoon will hold from 110 to 120 minims of water, whereas 
one of those heirlooms, a grandmother’s teaspoon, is the measure of 
the standard teaspoonful of 60 minims. Referring, then, to the 
standard measure, the bird would be said to eat two teaspoonfuls of 
sugar daily. An ordinary cube of loaf sugar contains the equivalent 
of this amount. 

Reflecting upon the bulk consumed by so small a creature, one 
naturally desires to know the weight of a humming bird. A little 
boy brought to us the body of a male that had been shut into a 
machine shed, where its death may have resulted from starvation. 
Its weight was 33 grains. Naturalists in early days were vexed by 
the same question, as is shown by a quotation given by Mr. Ridgway 


44863°—sm 1918-30 


466 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


in his book on humming birds. It is from Philosophical Transac- 
tions, 1693, by Nehemiah Grew, who wrote: “I did weigh one (in 
those parts) as soon as ever it was killed whose weight was the tenth 
part of an ounce avoirdupois.” From these weights one makes the 
deduction that our humming birds are accustomed to eat of sugar 
twice their own weight daily. If human adults ate of sugar propor- 
tional amounts there would be required nearly 300 pounds of this 
saccharine food daily for the average person. 

No attempt has been made to tame the birds that came to drink, 
yet one, perhaps two of them, became bold enough to drink when a 
bottle was being filled; while she thrust her bill into the empty re- 
ceptacle a spoonful of sirup was frequently held touching the mouth 
of the bottle, but she did not learn to drink from the spoon. While 
drinking the tongue was extended about a quarter of an inch beyond 
the tip of the bill, and two or three drops were sipped before the bill 
was withdrawn. Once 15 drops were taken with three insertions of 
the bill, and at another time the bird drank without the withdrawal 
of her bill for about the duration of a minute. At such times the 
bottle was free from ants; probably they were present when the 
drinking was done with numerous sips. Often a bird preferred to 
take her breakfast in courses, perching on a near-by dead twig for a 
minute or two between drinks. 

During two of the seasons it was thought that some of the birds 
roosted on our place, appearing as they did very early, and making 
a long day for feasting and fighting. In other years the birds were 
seen to fly eastward at night and their morning arrivals were not so 
early. One June morning a bird was ready for her breakfast at 4 
o’clock, and took her last drink at night just before the clock struck 
8. On some August days there are records of their presence at break 
of day; in one case it was 38 minutes before sunrise. They usually 
lingered a short time after sundown, drinking long and deeply before 
taking their evening departure. 

The conviction that the same birds were returning to us summer 
after summer began to be felt at the beginning of the fourth season. 
On May 26 of that year the first humming bird appeared on the place. 
The next day the flowerless bottle No. 4 was put out, and in a few 
hours a bird was drinking from it. For the next three weeks she 
was seen drinking from this bottle on every day except two, but not 
in the middle of the day; then for two weeks she was missed, return- 
ing again on the Ist of July. 

The history of the fifth season was similar. Humming birds havy- 
ing been seen on May 22 bottle No. 4 was staked out and filled for a 
few days. No bird coming to drink, the bottle filling had been dis- 
continued, when on June 6 a humming bird on suspending wings was 
seen searching this bottle. Not finding sirup in it she flew to the 


FEEDING HUMMING BIRDS—SHERMAN. 467 


spot always occupied by the flowerpot holding the artificial flowers 
when they were in place. Over this vacant spot she hovered an 
instant before flying away. Ona few other June days a bird of this 
species was present and on the 17th one was seen drinking, but her 
steady summer boarding did not begin until July 9. In the sixth 
spring the species arrived earlier than usual. No bottles were out 
on May 7 when a humming bird was seen hovering over the cus- 
tomary place for the artificial flowers. As quickly as possible these 
flowers were put out, but before they could be filled the bird was 
thrusting her bill into the tiger lily. She came to drink on most of 
the days thereafter until June 9, also June 14, 15, and 24, and on 
July 1 and 2; but it was not until July 16 that she came for constant 
drinking. 

These dry and dull details have been given in full because two 
theories were based on them. That the birds of former years have 
returned to be fed seems unquestionable from their searching at once 
flowerless bottle No. 4 and from the other evidences offered. That 
the birds came in May and at intervals in June and July before 
becoming steady boarders about the middle of July, seems to indi- 
cate that they nested 2 or 3 miles away, too far for daily trips after 
incubation began. The supposition that these nestings were in the 
woods is founded on the fact that in leaving the birds flew in that 
direction, also because they were never found about the trees of the 
four farmyards that intervene between our place and the woods. 
That in two summers a mother rubythroat returned with her daugh- 
ter was suggested by seeing on several occasions two birds drinking 
together from one bottle, a phenomenon that needs explanation when 
we consider the pugnacious disposition usually exhibited by one 
drinker toward another. 

In further confirmation of the foregoing is the history of the 
feeding in 1918. Bottles No. 4 and No. 6 were set out on April 30. 
For two months and a half no humming bird visited them. It 
chanced on July 14 that the stick support of No. 4 was lying on the 
ground, leaving only No. 6 in position, when my sister saw a hum- 
ming bird thrusting her bill into it. She hastened to fill this bottle, 
which was the first time it had ever been filled, and it lacked but 
eight days of two full years since it was first set out. Six days later 
I was in the orchard a hundred feet or more distant from the bottles, 
when a humming bird fiew toward me and buzzed about my head as 
do no other birds except those that are fed. With greatly acceler- 
ated pulse I hurried to the house and filled the bottles. In exactly 
two minutes the humming bird was drinking from one of them; this 
was the first drinking witnessed in that year. It was one of my most 
thrilling experiences in bird study. Two marvelously long journeys 
of from one to two thousand miles each had this small sprite taken 


468 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


since last she had drunk from the bottles, yet she had not forgotten 
them, nor the one that fed her. She was quite prone to remind either 
of us when the bottles were empty by flying about our heads, wherever 
she chanced to find us, whether in the yard or in the street. Once 
having been long neglected she nearly flew into my face as I opened 
the barn door to step out. 

The last experiment made was that of flavoring one of the bottles 
of sirup with vanilla, and later with extract of lemon, to see if the 
birds showed preference for the plain sirup or for the flavored. Both 
kinds were served at the same time, and of both the birds drank, 
showing no choice that could be detected. 

It may already have been surmised from the gender of the pro- 
noun used that it is the female only of this species that has the 
“ sweet tooth.” Never once in the seven summers has a male ruby- 
throat been seen near a bottle. The drinking birds have been ex- 
amined long and critically, with binocular and without, in order to 
detect on some of the birds the identification marks of the young 
males, but without success; moreover, had young males been present 
they, too, would have been apt to return in later years. This absence 
of the males led to noting their scarcity in general, and to recording 
in notebook when and where a male at any time was seen. The entire 
number seen in the past five years has been six on our place and six 
elsewhere. It is impossible to do more than estimate the number of 
females that have been seen; but when it is remembered that on sev- 
eral days in two summers seven have been in sight at one time, it 
does not appear to be an overestimate to place their number at 
twelve or fifteen for each vear or six times more of them than of 
the males. 

The simple experiments herein described are such that they may be 
tried by any one having a yard frequented by the rubythroat. If 
any one doubts that the female of this species will choose a sac- 
charine diet, when it is available, let him continue the tests until 
convinced beyond cavil or a doubt. It is especially desirable that the 
experiments be made in proximity to the nesting birds in order to 
see if the mother will feed sirup to her nestlings. Sometimes our 
eatbirds and brown thrashers have come into the porch to the cat’s 
plate and taken his bread and milk for their nestlings. Upon this 
hint for needed aid I have put bread soaked in milk on the fence 
railing for them, and they have taken it also. It is reasonable to be- 
lieve that in like manner sweet benefactions proffered to a hard- 
working humming bird mother might be acceptable to her and 
shared by her with her nestlings. 


WHAT THE AMERICAN BIRD BANDING ASSOCIATION 
“HAS ACCOMPLISHED DURING 1912.7 


By Howarp H. CLEAvEs.” 


[With 2 plates. ] 


Since it is obvious that this report will fall into the hands of 
many who are not cognizant of the facts relating to the origin, 
growth, and present status of the bird banding movement in Amer- 
ica, it might not be amiss to devote a brief space at the outset to a 
review of that phase of the subject. The mystery of bird migration 
has tickled and agitated the lay mind and engaged the attention of 
the ornithologist for we know not how long, and although much has 
been ascertained by field observers with regard to dates of arrival 
and departure at given points of the majority of migratory species, 
practically nothing is known of the movements of individual birds. 
Even Audubon became interested in this problem, for we read that 
he placed silver wire rings about the tarsi of a brood of young 
Pheebes and was rewarded the following year by discovering two 
of these birds nesting in the same vicinity. Whether through read- 
ing of this interesting incident or hearing of the splendid efforts 
put forth by certain Europeans who began banding birds as early 
as 1899, or by reason of a spontaneous desire to investigate, it would 
be difficult to tell, but the fact remains that not later than 1902 indi- 
vidual experimenters in this country engaged themselves in earnest 
and comparatively extensive efforts to cast light on the wanderings 
of birds by the use of inscribed metal bands or rings. 

Not until 1908, however, did anything approaching a concerted 
bird banding movement develop. During that year certain mem- 
bers of the New Haven (Conn.) Bird Club did a small amount of 
banding, but, realizing how unavailing were the efforts of so few, 

1Reprinted by permission from The Auk, vol. 30, No, 2, April, 1913. For previous 
reports of bird banding work in America see The Auk, vol. 26, No. 2, pp. 137-143, April, 
1909, and The Auk, vol. 27, No. 2, April, 1910. 


2 Address communications to Howard H. Cleaves, secretary-treasurer, Public Museum, 
New Brighton, N. Y. 


469 


470 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


decided to carry the cause before the Congress of the American 
Ornithologists’ Union at Cambridge, Mass., in November. There 
it met with favor and the demand by members of the union for bands 
became so pronounced that 5,000 were issued prior to the close of 
the nesting period of 1909. Of this number approximately 1,000 
were actually placed on birds, and there resulted from these about 30 
return records by the end of the year. With interest aroused, the 
time seemed ripe to give the movement a more concrete form than 
it had hitherto assumed, the result being that some 30 members of 
the American Ornithologists’ Union assembled in New York on the 
evening of December 8, 1909, and organized the American Bird 
Banding Association. 

Dr. Leon J. Cole, who had been so successfully pushing the work, 
was chosen president, and together with four able colleagues made 
up the executive committee. In the spring of 1910, however, Dr. 
Cole was permanently called to Madison, Wis., and partly as a 
result of his absence, and also on account of the pressing business 
affairs of all members of the committee and their widely separated 
places of residence, the activities of the association were destined to 
meet with a serious setback. Practically nothing was accomplished 
during 1910 nor in 1911, but in the fall of the latter year the Lin- 
nean Society of New York offered to foster the work, much to the 
relief of those previously encumbered with it. A committee (con- 
sisting at first of three and subsequently of five) was appointed and 
a campaign to raise funds in preparation for the nesting season of 
1912 was inaugurated and carried forward with considerable success. 

At the outset a change in the type of bands seemed advisable and 
after inquiring among as many as six different European bird band- 
ing organizations the style used by Country Life, London, was 
adopted. Seven thousand five hundred of these bands, of eight dif- 
ferent sizes and bearing the inscription “Notify Am. Museum, 
N. Y.,” instead of “ Notify The Auk, N. Y.,” were ordered. For the 
purpose of keeping an exact record of every band issued a special 
ledger was designed and a filing cabinet for record cards and. cor- 
respondence was purchased. As the spring of 1912 approached 
post cards were sent out requesting that applications for bands be sub- 
mitted. So vigorous was the response resulting from these cards 
and from notices in The Auk, Bird-Lore, Country Life in America, 
and elsewhere, that 4,173 bands were distributed among 44 persons 
residing in various parts of the country, and representing such 
widely separated territories as Nova Scotia, Montana, and Florida. 
All told, 800 of the bands issued this year (1912) have been actually 
placed on birds, and some of these have already yielded return 
records possessing a high degree of interest. The total number of 


BIRD BANDING—CLEAVES. 471 


species banded during the past season is 73, of which the following is 
a summary: 


Number Number 
banded banded 
Species. in 1912, Species. in 1912, 
PRC UNOTNGE oo, Meadowlark. | 225 57 Male deo We 6 
Great black-backed gull... | 41 | Western meadowlark __________ 5 
TE Masri bares 621010 all CER TR ea NS 2 mOrchard: OTioley sas w ia gedueen era 1 
WUe@rsineipe rine ees Lyi Brewer's blackbird). 220 res 18 
Perch perrele 282 oe. 2A Purple crackle: {c) eee Hen. 1 
AVL CSN CS) as a 20) VELOUSE. ADCDE & ) 349A) Sea eee 1 
ESCA SSA OFS es Se 10 | Chestnut-collared longspur___—— 1 
TRUST RETA Le A A ll a ce 1 | Western Vesper sparrow___--—— 1 
mumenican heeret 220) Jo A 145) House! Sparrow. 22 aoe ae it 
ton nesretin Saad Vk 30°) Savannah'sparrow.) 2 20 
Mouisina mherone 21 | White-throated sparrow_______— 1 
inde blue, heron. =.= =. Lj. Chipping. sparrow. eee 6 
TAN 8) 105) 01S (09 0) Aa 2 | Pield spartow.22 4 
Black-crowned night heron_____ 10:)) Song. Sparrow) 255 eee 15 
Spotceq, Sandpiper 2-2-0 19 | Slate-colored junco ____-_______ 9 
Tas GUNG See) Oe USI A NS eae 2) Towhee io): 20) Sees ae ees 2 
PUT IOVER et 3) Carding) 2. 82. eee 3 
DOME GONe se 4 | Rosebreasted grosbeak_________ ak 
Ae Se OLY ake See a ee 4) indigo! bunting {2a Sa sea 3 
enimOyglee te ye 6.) Dickeissell. ois ee eee 2 
BHereesred \OWwlo 8 || ‘Scarlet tanagers- 2:7 ae 2 
PeeReC CEM MO Wile es Te 2) Purple martin. 242222 eee 3 
Yellow-billed cuckoo _-_____-____ 3) Barn “Swealllow 2 wel eae eee 49 
Yellow-bellied sapsucker _______ ft) Red-eyed) vireo. 2s Tees 3 
Red-headed woodpecker________ 2 | Black and white warbler______ if 
LOCUST ee 25 |): Yellow; warbler=22: =e hoes a 8 
Ohmnneveswitt 22 2 5 ly Myrtle warbler 22000 en ae al 
Arkansas kingpird. 9022-22! 10 | Black-throated green warbler___ 1 
Great crested flycatcher________ 5 | Louisiana water-thrush__---—__ 3 
VETTE DA UE 49)) Gatbird 220 2250 ee Bee 7 
Olive-sided flycatcher__.-__-_ 2.) Brown thrasher=) 20 lo. eeseeeen 9 
Raligertcyen eee ee 9. | Chickadees_. -o)) 72-2 5 
MVeSternerow 9. 2°) Wood thrushi* 3a 4 
SU] ULC 0 Aa 2, Bae | Ropm'e 20 2) 2 ee eee 22 
Se 2) (Western (robin== 220) eae aR eS 12 
Red-winged blackbird_-________ Ay) elaebird sa) euiee iy aes 16 
Thick-billed redwing. 8! 


The activity of certain of the banders in the field has been remark- 
able and their observations often noteworthy. For instance, Mr. 
Oscar E. Baynard, in charge of Bird Island in Orange Lake, Fla., 
writes than in placing some 250 bands on white and glossy ibises, 
egrets, and Louisiana black-crowned night and green herons it was 
necessary for him to wade about up to his knees in soft mud and 
guano while the temperature averaged 94° in the shade. Mr. Bay- 
nard says further: 

I note a white ibis that I banded last year is nesting here this year, although 
I can not determine the number. Have noted two long whites nesting here this 
year that were here last year—one adult with deformed leg and a youngster 
with a deformed foot. This last year’s youngster has a nest of its own this 
year and the old one has built in the same bush she used last year. Next year 
I will probably be able to note a lot of handed birds returning here to nest. 

Mr. A. A. Saunders, of the Forest Service of Montana, is practi- 
cally the only person doing any banding work in the West, but he 


472 ANNUAL REPORL SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


is a host in himself and loses no opportunity to put his bands to good 
use while ranging over his territory. In a letter dated June 25, 
1912, Mr. Saunders says: 


I was recently told of an incident of a marked bird returning to the place 
where it was born, and got as many of the facts as possible, as I believe they 
will be of interest to the association. The incident was told me by Mr. E. A. 
Woods, a forest ranger on the Lewis and Clark National Forest, and while this 
information comes second hand, I believe it is correct. A lady living near 
Mountain View, Alberta, just north of the United States boundary, found the 
nest of a Canada goose and hatched out the eggs under a hen. The young geese 
lived in the barnyard that summer, and one was marked by fastening a bell 
around its neck. In the fall, when a flock of migrating geese flew over, the 
geese left the barnyard, and joined this flock. Two years later, in the spring, 
the goose wearing the bell returned and stopped in: the barnyard for a few days. 

Mr. Ernest Harold Baynes, of Meriden, N. H., is one of the most 
energetic and faithful banders at present engaged in the work, not- 
withstanding his many other activities. He tells of a flock of 125 
white-winged crossbills that fed near his home last winter. The 
birds were so tame that Mr. Baynes had but to stoop and pick them 
up when he wished to place bands on their legs. Members of the 
Meriden Bird Club have put up many nesting boxes for chickadees, 
bluebirds, ete., and numbers of these small birds have been banded. 
Indeed, it goes without saying that any bird that falls into the hands 
of Mr. Baynes wears a ring on its leg when released. 

Mr. Harrison F. Lewis, of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, is another who 
has accomplished much in the matter of banding the smaller birds. 
Mr. Lewis told me that when the school children living in the coun- 
try near him heard of his banding work they all set out to find birds’ 
nests and report them to him. Thus a double end was accomplished— 
Mr. Lewis was enabled to band dozens of birds without spending 
much of his own valuable time in looking for nests, and, best of all, 
the children of the countryside suddenly took a rousing interest in 
bird life, although perhaps unwittingly. What these children were 
really keen about was to watch the placing of the tiny aluminum 
bands on the birds’ legs, but to locate the young birds the nests had 
to be found and in order to find the nests it was necessary to follow 
the movements and watch the habits of the old birds. It is often 
difficult to induce children simply to observe things if they think you 
are trying to make them acquire some knowledge by doing so, but here 
was a new idea, a material end to be accomplished—something to do. 
There is no reason why the work of banding birds should not work 
a similar miracle among adults—it adds a vigorous interest to bird 
study; arouses latent interest; or even preserves interest when it 
tends to wane. 

These few cases of the activities of field agents are cited as exam- 
ples of what hundreds of ornithologists should be doing throughout 
the continent of North America. Bird banding is not the work of a 


BIRD BANDING——CLEAVES,. 473 


limited circle but the duty of many, and it is only by extensive 
banding that results of value can be obtained. Realizing these facts, 
it has been thought best to welcome the cooperation of all competent 
bird lovers, regardless of the matter of contributions or annual dues. 
Anyone deemed properly qualified by the committee may apply for 
bands and will receive them. On the other hand it is hoped that 
there are enough people who sufficiently appreciate the value of the 
work to sustain the necessary financial burden. 

A year ago many persons declined to support the work of bird 
banding on the grounds that not sufficient results had been obtained 
to establish its practicability. The following return records of 
banded birds, received within the past 12 months, should rob this 
objection of its foundation: 

On June 7, 1911, an adult chimney swift fluttered down a chimney 
into the study of Mr. Ernest Harold Baynes in Meriden, N. H., and 
was promptly banded and released. The band was of the old style 
and bore the number 6326. At 8 o’clock p. m. on June 15, 1912, two 
chimney swifts flew from the chimney into the same room of Mr. 
Baynes’ house where the bird had been caught a year and eight days 
before. And lo! when these birds were taken in hand and examined 
one of them proved to be 6326. Remarkable as it may seem, this 
diminutive creature, less than 6 inches in length, had traveled hun- 
dreds of miles to Central America or elsewhere in the Tropics 
where he spent the winter and then made the long return journey at 
the approach of summer and found again the chimney of his choice 
in a village of far-off New Hampshire. And throughout his journey- 
ings the little aluminum ring had traveled with him and had pro- 
duced not the least effect on the bird’s leg. 

Two French Canadians were gunning along a small river near the 
hamlet of Whitebread in southwestern Ontario, Canada, on August 
5, 1912. Blackbirds, their intended booty, were not numerous and 
the men were about to return to camp when one suddenly touched 
the other on the arm and said “ You can not hit him!” In answer 
to this challenge the second gunner wheeled quickly about and took 
a difficult chance shot at a fast disappearing common tern. There 
were many terns flying up and down the stream, hovering in the 
air and plunging for minnows, and it seems strange that the one shot 
should have borne a band on his leg. The finding of that band 
resulted in the following letter: 

DEAR FRIENDS: AS I have never seen you’s before, but I am writing a few 
lines to tell you about a ring or piece of tin I found on a sea gull or sea bird. 
There is thousands of them here, but I will not try it again. In examining 
the bird I found on the left leg ‘ Notify the Auk or Ark 4590 New York.” So 
I am doing so to let you know how far this bird traveled. Well, I will close. 


Please write back and let me know if you got this scribbling. 


From 
Leo Satois, Box 14, Whitebread, Ont. 
Avcust 5, 1912. 


474 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


On referring to No. 4590 among the original banding records 
it was found that the bird in question had been marked when about 
2 weeks old at St. Clair Flats Canal, Mich., on August 13, 1909, 
by Mr. S. A. Courtis. By corresponding with Mr. Salois it was 
learned that the terns were apparently not nesting at Whitebread, 
Ontario, and it is not unlikely that the birds seen there had bred 
at St. Clair Flats and were indulging in a little raving after the 
nesting season. However this may be, the fact remains that the dead 
tern had worn the aluminum anklet for three years minus eight 
days; had likely made three round trips to the Gulf of Mexico or 
some other place in the ‘Tropics to spend the winter each year since 
1909; and was shot but a comparatively short distance from the 
spot where he was hatched. 

A farmer by the name of August Schilling, of Evansville, Il., was 
walking across his fields on April 1, 1912, when he frightened a 
butcher bird from a fence post, where it had been feeding on what 
proved to be a bluebird. On picking up the victim and scrutinizing 
it Mr. Schilling was astonished to discover that the bird wore a ring 
on its right leg, and that the ring bore an inscription, He wrote a 
letter to The Auk, New York, giving the number of the band, and 
asked for information, saying: 

Please let me know when the band was put on. There are lots of people 
would like to know. 

This particular bluebird was one of a brood banded by Dr. R. M. 
Strong, of the University of Chicago, at West Allis, Wis., on July 
5, 1909. The band had been carried for two years and nine months, 
and had apparently caused no inconvenience. It is probable that 
this bluebird had made two complete migrations to the south, and 
was about to complete the last lap of a third when he was so unfor- 
tunate as to cross the path of Lanius borealis. 

The letters sent in by persons who have come into possession of 
banded birds are often intensely interesting, containing information 
regarding the conditions under which the bird was secured that 
makes a story of unique character when one goes to the filing cabinet, 
picks out the banding record, and puts the two halves of the tale 
together. The following is a good example: The owner of a rice 
plantation on the Lower Cambahee River, Colleton County, S. C., 
sent in word that on November 2, 1912, his “bird minder” (a man 
stationed with a gun in the “rice yard” for the purpose of keeping 
birds away from the grain) had shot a number of red-winged black- 
birds and was preparing them for a potpie when he came upon one 
wearing a small metal band on its leg. What could be more fraught 
with interest? The man had, of course, given the number of the 
band, and we at once picked out the card bearing the record of band- 
ing, and supplied the other end of the story. We found that the bird 


BIRD BANDING—-CLEAVES. 475 


was banded as a fledgling by Mr. Harry 8S. Hathaway at Quonochou- 
taug, Charlestown, R. I., on June 8, 1912. On being notified of the 
“return” Mr. Hathaway wrote: 

I well remember this young red wing. I was wading through a eat-tail 
swamp, looking for redwings’ nests, when I spied him clinging to a cat-tail 
about 2 feet from the water. I made a grab and had him in my hand and a 
band on in a jiffy. A toss in the air, and he awkwardly flew some 20 feet, and 
succeeded in grasping an upright cat-tail, and clung there while I went on. 

Who would have supposed that the young redwing, reared in a 
Rhode Island cat-tail swamp in June, would end his career in a pot- 
pie in South Carolina five months later ? 

Almost every record that has come in is characterized by some dis- 
tinguishing feature and would furnish reading matter as interesting 
as the several returns cited above. Lack of space, however, prevents 
the publication of these embellishments, although the reader may 
gather much from the banding and return records in their condensed 
form at the end of this paper. The percentage of returns, contrary 
to the predictions of some, has indeed been encouraging; and the 
point that should be emphasized in connection with these is that they 
have not in a single instance been due to the handicapping of the 
birds by the bands. This is proved, firstly, by the fact that the 
bands have been carried by the birds for such long periods; secondly, 
by reason of the very conditions attending the taking of each bird; 
and thirdly, by the fact that the presence of the band on the bird’s 
leg was not in a single case detected until the bird was taken in the 
hand and examined, and therefore could not possibly have prompted 
anyone to kill the bird for the purpose of recovering the band and 
satisfying his own curiosity. This sort of thing, by the way, is and 
should be strongly denounced and discouraged. It is rather the 
interest in watching for banded birds and even photographing them 
that should be encouraged. 

It would not be wise to spring at conclusions with regard to the 
significance and meaning of the return records that have thus far 
been secured. The fact that Mr. Baynes’s chimney swift returned to 
its old stand after an absence of nearly a year in the Tropics is sig- 
nificant in itself; but before stating chat, barring accident, chimney 
swifts invariably return year after year to the same chimney it 
would be advisable, not to say necessary, to obtain a dozen or even 
a hundred similar records as corroborative evidence. 

Beyond a doubt the greatest progress in the work of banding birds 
in America has been made during the year just past, but the pace 
established in that time must be not only maintained, but greatly 
increased. Our interest and enthusiasm must not decline for a mo- 
ment; the work and aims of the American Bird Banding Association 
must receive the most zealous support that American ornithologists 
are capable of imparting. 


476 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


Return records. 


(a) The returns in this division are from the old lot of bands issued by 


Dr. Cole in 1909. 


7287. Herrina Guiy. Larus argentatus. 


Banded at Falls Pond, Hamilton 
County, N. Y., by Francis Harper. 

June 27, 1910. 

Downy young. 


4590. Common TERN. Sterna hirundo. 


Banded at Saint Clair Flats Canal, 
Mich., by S. A. Courtis. 

August 13, 1909. 

About two weeks old. ‘On bare 
sandy island left from dredging of 
new canals. Birds from one to 
four weeks of age found there.”— 
S. A. C. 


Recovered at Barnegat Inlet, N. J., 
by William H. Lewis. 

September 11, 1911. 

Found alive, but apparently sick, on 
the shore. 


Recovered at Whitebread, Ontario, 
Canada by Leo Salois. : 

August 5, 1912. 

Shot. Birds did not seem to be 
breeding here and probably wan- 
dered over from Saint Clair Flats 
after the breeding season. 


6625. Sporrtrep SANDPIPER. Actitis macularia. 


Banded at House Is. (Four Bros. 
Islds.), Lake Champlain, N. Y., by 
Francis Harper. 

July 7, 1910. 

Downy young “caught on July 8 
and July 9, examined and found to 
‘be in good condition.”—F.. H. 


Recovered at Squantum, Mass., by 
Hayden Crocker. 

September 6, 1910. 

Shot among a flock of smaller sand- 
pipers “on a mudbank in a salt 
marsh. Did not notice band on leg 
until I was dressing bird.”—H. C. 


5557. NORTHERN FLIcKEeR. Colaptes auratus luteus. 


Banded at Logan Park Cemetery, 
Sious City, La., by Prof. 'T. C. 
Stephens. 

June 11, 1910. 

Male nestling, one of a brood of 
seven. 


6326. CHIMNEY Swirt. Chetura pelagica. 


Banded at Meriden, Sullivan Co., 
N. H., by Ernest Harold Baynes. 

June 7, 1911. 

Adult: “ This bird and another came 
down the chimney and into my 
study at 8S p. m. It was almost 
dark when we liberated them.”— 
BE. H. B. 


Recovered at Bayard, Kans., by I. 
Decker. 

November 20, 1910. 

Captured in a barn; injured in cap- 
turing and afterwards killed. 
Band was not noticed until the 
bird was dead. 


Recovered at Meriden, Sullivan Co., 
N. H., by Ernest Harold Baynes. 

June 15, 1912. 

Caught in a room. “The leg to 
which the band was attached ap- 
peared normal in every way.’— 
LONE ul sy 


955. ReED-WINGED BLACKBIRD. Agelaius pheniceus pheniceus. 


Banded at Berwyn, Chester, Co., 
Pa., by Leonard S. Pearson. 

June 6, 1909. 

Pledgling; “had just left nest.”— 
IUash et 


tecovered at Lansdowne, Delaware 
Co., Pa., by H. L. Henry. 

September 1, 1909. 

Shot. 


BIRD BANDING—CLEAVES. 477 


58388. Frevp Spagrow. Spizella pusilla pusilla. 


Banded at Sioux City, Ia., by Prof. 


T. ©. Stephens. 
June 11, 1910. 
Fledgling. 


Recovered at Sioux City, Ia., by A. 
Kirkegaard. 

May 28, 1911. 

No information as to how it was 
obtained. 


$429. WESTERN House WREN. T'roglodytes aédon parkmani. 


Banded at Milwaukee, Ore., by Wil- 


liam L. Finley. 
July 31, 1909. 
Nestling. 


Recovered at Woodburn, Ore., by 
son of J. G. Martzoff. 

June 26, 1910. 

Found in watering tank. Woodburn 


is about 30 miles south of Mil- 
waukee. 


251. Rosin. Planesticus migratorius migratorius. 


Banded at Kingston, R. I. (Orchard 
of Agricultural College) by Leon 
J. Cole and Wm. F. Kirkpatrick. 

August 4, 1908. 

Half-fledged bird from “nest about “Presence of band was unknown 
10 ft. up in an apple tree.”— until bird was in the hand. Speci- 
1 OS Cx OH men taken to aid in pathological 

work at station. Band had caused 
no abrasion or other injury to 
foot.”—L. J. C. 


Recovered at Kingston, R. I. (Poul- 
try plant of Agricultural College) 
by Wm. F. Kirkpatrick. 

April 9, 1909. 


1212. Rosin. Planesticus migratorius migratorius. 


Banded at Bangor, Me., by Ora Wil- Recovered at Nashville, Tenn., by 


lis Knight. J. G. Jenkins. 
July 8, 1910. February 21, 1911. 
“Young bird found on ground barely ‘“* Captured.” 


able to fly. Banded and re- 
leased.”—O. W. K. 


2376. RosBin. Planesticus migratorius migratorius. 


Banded at Westbrook, Cumberland Recovered at Westbrook, Cumber- 
Co., Me., by Arthur H. Norton. land Co., Me., by Arthur H. Nor- 
July 21, 1909. ton. 
Nestling. July 27, 1909. 
Killed by a cat at night; bird left 
the nest July 27. 


1271. Rosin. Planesticus migratorius migratorius. 


Banded at Portland, Me., by Ora — Recovered at Portland, Me., by Chas. 
Willis Knight. E. Foss. 
July 29, 1912. August 3, 1912. 
Fledgling, just out of the nest. Killed by a cat on a lawn ‘“‘two 
and a half blocks north of spot 
where bird was banded.”—O. W. K. 


478 


2816. BiurpirD. Sialia sialis sialis. 


Banded at West Allis, Wis., by Dr. 
R. M. Strong. 

July 5, 1909. 

Nestling; “one of a brood of sev- 
eral.”—R. M. S. 


63802. BLursreD. Sialia sialis sialis. 


Banded at Meriden, Sullivan Co., 
N. H., by Ernest Harold Baynes. 

June 3, 1911. 

About two weeks old; “one of a 
family of five in an unpainted 
wooden box, on the corner of an 
old shed.’—H. H. B. 


ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION » 1918. 


Recovered at Evansville, Randolph 
Co., [il., by August Schilling. 

April 1, 1912. 

Killed by a Northern Shrike, Lanius 
borealis. 


Recovered at Berlin, Md., by son of 
a millhand in the employ of 
Charles W. Tingle. 

January 20, 1912. 

Shot together with others of a flock 
of Bluebirds. 


(b) The following have resulted from the new lot of bands issued in the 


spring of 1912. 


5804. GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL. Larus marinus. 


Banded at Lake George, Yarmouth 
Co., N. S., by Howard H. Cleaves. 

July 28, 1912. 

Fledgling. 


5830. GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL. 


Banded at Lake George, Yarmouth 
Co., N. S., by Howard H. Cleaves. 

July 26, 1912. 

Fledgling; “a few of these birds 
(about three dozen were banded) 
were seen later from my blind. 
They paid no attention to the 
bands.” —H..H. C. 


5832. Great BLACK-BACKED GULL. 


Banded at Lake George, Yarmouth 
Co., N. S., by Howard H. Cleaves. 

July 27, 1912. 

Fledgling. 


7115. Preine Prover. Agialitis meloda. 


Banded at Katama, Martha’s Vine- 
yard, Mass, by Howard H. 
Cleaves. 

July 3, 1912. 

Three days old, one of a family of 

three. 


Recovered at Mavillette, Digby Co., 
N. S., by Frank S. Doucet. 

December 18, 1912. 

Caught alive. ‘“‘Bird seemed half 
tame, due probably to some ail- 
ment. Band moved easily up and 
down the tarsus,’—F. D. 


Larus marinus. 


Recovered at Cape Negro Is., Shel- 
burne Co., N. 8., by Ashley Smith. 

October 4, 1912. 

Shot by Mr. Smith when gunning. 


Larus marinus. 


Recovered at Prout’s Neck, Cumber- 
land Co., Me., by G. Clifford Libby. 

December 6, 1912. 

Found dead on the beach. 


Recovered at south shore of Mar- 
tha’s Vineyard, Mass. 

August 2, 1912. 

Shot by a boy. 


‘LOO4 NO GNVG HLIM 11N5H GaNovg-NOvV1g ONNOA *S 
"ANO109 (VILOOS VAON) 3DHO3S5 3XV7] 3SHL NI ST11N5H GsaNovg-NoOv1g ONIGNVG "} 


“| Siv1d *S8ARa|D—'E16| ‘HOday URlUOsY}IWS 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Cleaves. PLATE 2. 


1. YOUNG MourRNING DOVES, BANDED AT STATEN ISLAND, N. Y. 
2. CHIMNEY SWIFT, BANDED AT MERIDEN, N. H. 
3. BARN OWL, BANDED AT STATEN ISLAND, N. Y. 


BIRD BANDING—CLEAVES. 479 


12. ReD-WINGED BLACKBIRD. Agelaius pheniceus pheniceus. 


Banded at Quonochoutaug, Charles- 
town, R.1., by Harry S. Hathaway. 

June 8, 1912. 

Fledgling; “caught with the hands 
and when released alighted on a 
eat-tail.’—H. S. H. 


6261. PHa@BE. Sdayornis phebe. 


Banded at Meriden, Sullivan Co., 
N. H., by Ernest Harold Baynes. 

June 6, 1912. 

Adult, nest in old house in Corbin 
Park.) 


Recovered at Green Pond, Colleton 
Co., S. C., by Thomas Grant. 

November 2, 1912. 

Shot by a “bird minder.” (“A 
small blackbird known as the red- 
winged blackbird, in the fall very 
destructive to rice.’”’)—D. J. Chap- 
lin, owner of plantation. 


Recovered at Meriden, N. H., by 
Mrs. Ernest Harold Baynes. 

July 14, 1912. 

Found dead beneath nest; “could 
assign no cause for death. As 
far as I could see the presence 
of the band had had nothing to 
do with the case. The bird had 
laid one egg of the second set.”’— 
1 8 Oa) Be 


Explanation of plates. 


Prarn a: 


Fic. 1. Banding young black-backed gulls (Larus marinus) in the Lake 
George, Nova Scotia, Colony, July 25, 1912. Photograph by G. K. Noble. 
Fic. 2. Banded young black-backed gull, Lake George, Nova Scotia, 1912. 


PLATE 2. 


Fic. 1. Two young mourning doves (Zenaidura macroura carolinensis) banded 


at Staten Island, N. Y. City, May, 1912. 


most likely to produce return records. 


Game birds or others shot for food are 


Fic. 2. Chimney swift (Chetura pelagica) banded at Meriden, N. H., in June, 
1911, and returned, after wintering in the tropics, to his old chimney in New 
Hampshire, June, 1912. Photograph by Ernest Harold Baynes. 

Fic. 3. Old barn owl (Aluco pratincola) and her five young banded at Staten 
Island, N. Y. City, June, 1912. Only one pair of these birds is known to nest 
each year on the island, and banding is likely to cast light on the problem of 


dispersal of the young. 


feo Pe " 
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THE WHALE FISHERIES OF THE WORLD. 
By CHARLES RABOT. 


[With 3 plates. ] 


After -a long period of decadence the whale fishery has again 
experienced a considerable revival. In all parts of the world, at 
the present time, this interesting industry is being actively carried 
on, and, peeling to the Norwegian Fisheries Gazette (Norsk 
ele hdende). not less than 20 000 cetaceans are captured every 
year, so that the disappearance 3 these great marine mammals in 
the near future seems certain. 

Never very abundant, the right whales, that is the Arctic right 
whale, or Greenland whale, and the North Atlantic right whale, or 
Nordcaper, of which the oil served to light the way of our ancestors 
of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and of which the whale- 
bone was used to shape the figures of our great-great-grandmothers, 
have become very rare. In our time the Greenland whale is not regu- 
larly hunted except in Davis and Lancaster Straits, in Hudson Bay, 
and on the northwest coast of North America about Point Barrow. 
Even in those places it is no longer abundant. In 1910 the vessels 
from Dundee, which alone visited Davis Strait, took only 17 whales, 
in 1908 and in 1909 about 15, so that in spite of the high prices paid 
for the whalebone of this species, sometimes as much as $8,000 a 
ton, the Scotch whalers were frequently obliged to abandon their 
enterprise. 

On the northwest coast of America the Greenland whales appear 
more numerous. No statistics of the fishery in this region are avail- 
able, but the data now at hand indicate that the results in 1909 and 
1910 were excellent. In 1910, one vessel harpooned 15 of these huge 
cetaceans in this locality, and a second reported a cargo of whale- 
bone worth $130,000. 

The second species of right whale, the North Atlantic right whale 
or Biscay whale, is at present scarcely more abundant than the Green- 
land whale. It was, indeed, believed to be extinct, when one was 
harpooned near Iceland in 1888, and another the following year, five 


1 Translated by permission of the author, from La Nature, Paris, Sept. 14, 1912. 
44863°—sm 1913——31 481 


482 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


in 1890, and seven in 1891. Since then some of these whales have 
been captured from time to time in the North Atlantic. Further- 
more, in later years a certain number of right whales of other species, 
regarding which no statistics have been published, have been taken 
in the South Seas. 

In contrast with the foregoing, finbacks and humpbacks abound 
in all seas, such as the blue whale (Balenoptera sibbaldii), the 
rorqual (B. musculus L.), the Pollack whale (B. borealis), the com- 
mon humpback (J/egaptera nodosa), and many other less well- 
known species. These cetaceans are at present relentlessly pur- 
sued for commercial purposes. The finbacks present this special 
difference from the right whales, that they have only short whale- 
bone, and consequently less value. By way of compensation, all the 
other parts furnish remunerative products. The fat of these mam- 
mals yields a good 
quantity of oil, and 
the residue of the dis- 
tillation, together with 
the flesh, serve for 
the manufacture of a 
“ouano” when the 
carcasses are reduced 
toapowder. Finally, 
the meat is used for 
food. 

This finback whale 
fishery began 47 years 
ago on the northern 
coast of Scandanavia, 
and was due to the 
ingenuity of the celebrated Norwegian sailor, Svend Foyn. To the 
inventive spirit of this man are due the destructive machines now in 
use, which are boats of 100 to 150 tons, very speedy and carrying at 
the bow a gun that throws a harpoon to which a line is attached; in a 
word, the same system as that of the canon-porte-amarres. With this 
armament Svend Foyn in 1867 captured his first whale, and in the 
first year took 30. Less than 15 years afterwards the fortunate in- 
ventor found himself possessed of more than $2,000,000. Encouraged 
by this example, companies were organized to exploit this source of 
profit, to such an extent that in 1887 there were no less than 35 whal- 
ing vessels on the coast of Finmark—that is, on the portion of the 
Norwegian coast between Hammerfest and the Russian frontier. In 
good years they captured from 1,200 to 1,800 finbacks. Soon, how- 
ever, the inhabitants of this region made a violent protest against 
this new industry, which they asserted threatened to ruin them. 


FIG. 1.—MAP OF WHALING STATIONS IN AFRICA. 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Rabot. PLATE 1. 


COMMON FINBACK WHALE. 


SULPHUR-BOTTOM WHALE. 


NORTH AMERICAN HUMPBACK WHALE. 


WHALE FISHERIES—RABOT. 483 


Every spring great schools of codfish arrive on this coast in pursuit 
of the capelan, on which they feed and which approach the land to 
escape them. The cod are very fond of these little fish, and the 
fishermen assert that the whales also pursue them, and that the 
capelan, in order to escape, seek refuge in the shallow waters along 
the coast, thereby bringing the codfish near to land. The whales, 
becoming less numerous on account of the destructive fishery which 
is carried on for them, the capelan find themselves less actively pur- 
sued and remain offshore, along with the codfish, if we may credit 
the statement of the natives. In consequence, the cod fishery, which 
is the principal resource of Finmark, becomes more difficult and more 
precarious. The natives do not hesitate to impute the bad results 
of many seasons during the last decade to the whalers. Researches 
conducted by the most competent zoologists, however, indicate that 
no relation of cause and effect exists between the destruction of the 
whales and the greater or less abundance of codfish on the coast of 
Finmark. The fisherman did not on that account abandon their 
fixed idea, and as a result of their violent agitation the Norwegian 
Parliament prohibited whale fishing on the northern coast for a 
period of 10 years, beginning with 1904.1 

While this discussion was going on the Norwegian whalers estab- 
lished themselves little by little on all the coasts frequented by the 
finbacks in Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Newfoundland, Japan, South 
Africa, and, finally, in the Antarctic. Everywhere this industry 
is carried on by the fishermen of Sandefjord and Ténsberg, the 
home of Svend Foyn. Companies are formed in America or in 
Africa by means of local capital, but it is to the men of Sandefjord 
or Ténsberg that they confide the management of the enterprise, 
and it isfrom among them that they recruit their personnel. Finally, 
when, as in Japan, native fisheries are established, it is still to the 
Norwegian shipyards that they turn for the construction and equip- 
ment of the whaling vessels. For this reason every year the Nor- 
wegian Fisheries Journal publishes interesting statistics of the whale 
fishery, by the aid of which we are able to present a summary of the 
results of this interesting industry in 1911 throughout the world. 

In Europe there are but four places in which the fishery is carried 
on: The coast of the British Isles, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, and 
Spitzbergen. Seven companies, employing 16 steamers,? operate on 
the coast of Great Britain, four at the Shetlands, one at the Heb- 
rides, and two on the west coast of Ireland. In 1911 they caught 
632 whales* (355 at the Shetlands, 146 at the Hebrides, and 131 off 
Ireland), while in the preceding years the number taken rose to 

1 This prohibition, ending this year, was prolonged. 


2Seventeen in 1913, 
*In 1913 the cateh was 548. 


484 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


735 or 745. During the last year (1911), the product of the fisheries 
did not exceed 3,355 metric tons of oil, consequently the amount per 
whale was not more than 209.5 tons, while in 1910 it was 221 tons 
and in 1909, 297.5 tons. This circumstance is not due to a decrease 
in the number of whales, but to bad weather and to the inexperience 
of the gunners employed on several steamers. It is interesting to 
note that in the waters of Great Britain 17 Atlantic right whales 
were captured in 1910, 20 in 1907, and 6 in 1906. It was a capture 
well worth while, as the whalebone of this species is worth from 
$5,000 to $10,000 a ton.2 

At the Faroe Islands there are six companies with 15 steamers. 
In 1911 their booty was only 344 finbacks and two sperm whales. 
In 1907 the number was double. This capture of sperm whales was 
a fortunate circumstance. In one of them two pieces of ambergris 
were found weighing 17.5 kilograms and valued at $10,500. In 1910 
one Atlantic right whale was also captured in this region.? 

In Iceland there are also six companies, with about 25 steamers.’ 
According to the statistics, which are incomplete, only 350 were 
taken in 1911, while in the preceding year double that number were 
obtained, and 843 in 1907. This ground, therefore, seems exhausted 
or at least less rich than formerly. Several of the companies were 
dissolved and others abandoned this region to reestablish themselves 
in the South Seas, where the results are far more remunerative. 

Immediately after the prohibition of whaling on the northern 
coast of Norway, several companies were established at Spitzbergen. 
In 1907 there were six companies with 13 steamers, and a seventh at 
Bear Island with two boats. That year, on account of the large 
amount of ice in these two localities, only 333 finbacks were taken. 
Since that date most of the companies have abandoned this archi- 
pelago and only two remain in Isfjord, one at Green Harbor and the 
other at Safe Harbor. In 1910 they caught 165 whales and in 1911 
144 more, one of which was a Greenland whale. This very rare 
species was obtained off the northwest point of Spitzbergen,* in 80° 
north latitude. In 1913 there was a catch of 845 whales in the North 
Atlantic and Arctic Oceans from the English Channel to Spitz- 
bergen. 

In Asia the principal center of the whale fishery is in Japanese 
waters where it has been practiced from a very early day. Twenty 
or twenty-five years ago, in consequence of the introduction of the 
new apparatus, this industry developed rapidly. It was at first in 
the hands of the Norwegians, but little by little, owing to the boun- 
ties given by the Imperial Government, the Japanese superseded 

1The price of whalebone has since lowered. 

2In 1913 there were only two companies at Faroe Islands. 


3Three companies only in 19138. The companies are moving toward the eastern regions. 
“There is no more whale fishery (1913) at Spitzbergen. 


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WHALE FISHERIES—RABOT. 485 


them, though taking care to retain the more capable gunners. There 
are at present in Japan seven native companies with 28 vessels. In 
1909 the most important of them, which alone possessed 20 steamers, 
captured 605 whales. The preceding year, the Japanese harpooned 
784 whales. In 1911 one Russian whaler operated in the vicinity of 
Saghalin and Bering Strait, but the venture was scarcely profitable, 
as but six whales were taken. 

In North America whales are pursued on the west coast of Green- 
land, at Newfoundland and in the mouth of the St. Lawrence, and 
on the coast of British Columbia. Last year (1911) finbacks were 
hunted for the first time on the west coast of Greenland, but the 
results were not very satisfactory, as only 24 whales were taken. At 
Newfoundland 274 whales were harpooned in 1910, and in the vi- 
cinity of the-island and in the mouth of the St. Lawrence the results 
of the fishery were also mediocre. On the coast of Alaska, on the 
contrary, the number of whales taken in 1910 amounted to 1,300. 
In 1911, up to July 1, the catch of three steamers only was 247. In 
1912 two companies with five steamers were operating. The catch 
was 644 whales. 

In South America, one station was established in 1911 and four 
in 1912 on the coast of Brazil, another at the Falkland Islands, and 
in 1918 two more stations were established there, one company 
taking 87 whales; while on the coast of Chile three companies 
operated in 1911 and ten in 1912. 

Since 1908 South Africa has become one of the most productive 
centers of the whale fisheries. South of 12° 30’ south latitude not 
less than 12 stations have been established. Five of these, with 10 
steamers, are located in Angola, at Bahia de Lobito, at Elephant 
Bay, at Mossamedes, at Port Alexandria, and at Tiger Bay. On the 
coast of Cape Colony are two stations with four vessels, one at 
Saldana Bay, and the other at Mosser Bay; also in Natal, near 
Durban, three companies with nine steamers, and finally in Mozam- 
bique Channel, two stations, with four boats at Inhambane and at 
Angoche. 

In 1911, these 12 stations produced not less than 17,000 metric tons 
of oil. According to the Norwegian Fisheries Journal four com- 
panies alone captured 1,472, and it would not be excessive to estimate 
the number taken during the last season around South Africa at 
2,000; there were 23 stations around that coast in 1912. 

The destruction of whales in the Antarctic has been much greater. 
In 1911 not less than 10,000 finbacks and humpbacks were killed in 
the Antarctic Seas around South America. It was following the 
exploration carried on between 1901 and 1903 by Prof. Otto Nor- 
denskj6ld in the land situated south of Cape Horn that the whalers 
took their way to the South Polar Seas, a proof, it may be said in 


486 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


passing, that these scientific enterprises often lead to profitable 
economic results. In the course of this expedition Larsen, the 
captain of the Swedish exploring vessel, an experienced whaler, 
observed the presence of numerous humpbacks about South Georgia, 
and in December, 1904, he established himself on the island to hunt 
these whales. The enterprise having proved a complete success, 
others followed his example. In 1911 six companies with 18 boats 
operated on this island and all were extremely successful. As the 
Norwegian Fisheries Journal points out, there is in this region a 
truly extraordinary abundance of whales, and the number of ceta- 
ceans, chiefly humpbacks, taken at South Georgia during the last 
season is estimated at the enormous number of 7,000. Of 970 whales 
taken by one company 937 were humpbacks. 

The sulphurbottoms and common finbacks are both very abundant, 
but, because they are more combative and more difficult to kill, 
they are less disturbed. When the supply of humpbacks diminishes 
their turn will come. Every year some right whales are captured 
in this locality. During the southern summer of 1908-1909, 69 of 
them were taken. 

The 7,000 whales above mentioned produced 34,000 metric tons of 
oil, or double the production for the whole world only four years 
previously. This enormous quantity would fill a basin in which a 
whaler—that is to say, a steamer of from 100 to 120 tons—could 
maneuver. 

On South Georgia, which was previously uninhabited, actual in- 
dustrial villages have been established. A church has been erected. 
and there are three slips for cutting up the whales, two guano fac- 
tories, reservoirs for the oil, and houses for the staff. This Antarctic 
island has a floating population of many hundreds of sailors and 
workmen. A doctor resides there during the whaling season and, 
since 1908, the British Government has established a post office in 
this polar land. 

Farther to the south, in the region situated west of Cape Horn, 
and explored by Dr. Charcot with so much profit to science, a new 
whaling ground not less rich has been discovered. In 1907 the 
whalers who operated in the Strait of Magellan conceived the idea 
of pushing forward to the South Shetlands. They soon took up the 
enterprise and in a few weeks made 374 captures, including 73 right 
whales. Such success attracted much attention, and the following 
year four companies sent their steamers to Deception Island, in the 
archipelago. They captured not less than 2,000 whales, according 
to Dr. Charcot. In 1910 they obtained only 1,461 whales, chiefly 
humpbacks. In the meantime the whaling had become very difli- 
cult. The whales had, so to speak, completely deserted the waters 
of Deception Island, where they had previously been so abundant, 


WHALE FISHERIES—-RABOT. 487 


and had withdrawn far toward the southwest into the Strait of 
Gerlache. The whalers sought to recover them and had no cause to 
regret their labors. The strait literally boiled with whales, so much 
so that in a single day a boat would capture six or eight of them. 

In 1911 this industry received a new extension. Last year the num- 
ber of boats in this region increased to 22, belonging to eight differ- 
ent companies. In this season as in the preceding one the Strait of 
Gerlache was the principal center of operations and Port Lochroy 
the anchorage discovered by Charcot. In Wiencke Island was the 
general rendezvous of the whalers in this region. The hydrographic 
surveys executed by the French Antarctic expedition thus served the 
interests of commerce. 


ai = = 


‘ ve me a 


Aes 


Ne 


C Horn 


Détroit de Drake 


at 
Orcadesé du Sud 


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Shetlands duSud oP4dnirsity Bay 


‘ 4 TFalliéres 
‘Charcot ~TAlexandne 


& jo 60 


FIG. 2.—MAP OF WHALING STATIONS IN THE ANTARCTIC OCEAN. 


According to many accounts, the strait was full of whales, to use 
the picturesque expression of the Norwegian Fisheries Journal, and 
every day they were killed without mercy, so that for quite a long 
period one oil works was being replenished constantly by new sup- 
plies and manufactured as much as 68,000 kilos of oil in a day. The 
result of the season’s work was represented by 16,061 tons of oil fur- 
nished by 3,000 whales, of which 17 were right whales. 

In 1913 nine companies with 32 steamers were established in the 
South Shetlands. They caught more than 3,000 whales. 

To conclude the enumeration of the whaling ground we will men- 
tion Kerguelen Island. In 1908-9 a Norwegian company established 
in this archipelago captured 232 whales, among them one right 


488 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


whale. The following season was much less favorable, only 82 fin- 
backs having been taken, and in 1910-11 the total captures did not 
exceed 87. Furthermore, during these two last years some of the 
steamers belonging to the South African companies went to Ker- 
guelen Island. In 1910 one of these harpooned 41 whales. 
Approximately, then, in 1911 there were 3,000 whales taken in the 
seas of Europe and North America, about 2,000 in South Africa, and 
10,000 in the Antarctic, making a total of 15,000 whales, but this 
estimate is much too small, since neither Japan nor South America 
is included in the calculation. For the last season, 1911, the produc- 
tion of oil is estimated by the Norwegian Fisheries Journal at 102,000 
metric tons, or twice the production of 1910. Nevertheless, prices did 
not decline. Indeed, for a certain time they were very high, vary- 
ing at Christiania from 56 centimes to 61 centimes per kilogram. 


Fic. 3.—_MAP OF WHALING STATIONS IN THE ARCTIC OCEAN. 


The price of guano was also very firm, and the whalebone of the 
finbacks was in much demand. That of the sulphurbottom and 
the common finback varied from 1,893 francs, 75 centimes, to 1,767 
francs, 50 centimes, per ton, while the whalebone of the humpbacks 
did not bring more than 883 francs, 75 centimes. On the contrary, 
the whalebone furnished by the right whale brought only from 
30,000 to 35,350 francs per ton, a very low price for this article, 
which is usually so much in demand. 

The stability of prices gave a new impulse to the whaling industry. 
At the end of 1911, 15 important new Norwegian companies were 
formed and, in addition, a much larger number of smaller compa- 
nies. Four of them intended to operate on the coasts of South Africa, 
which would bring the number of those established in this region 
up to 20; two intended to locate in Alaska and eight in the seas of 
New Zealand and Australia. Finally, one company proposed to 


WHALE FISHERIES—RABOT. 489 


establish itself at the South Orkneys and the South Sandwich 
Islands. At South Georgia the British Government authorized the 
establishment of only one new company, organized in England. 
Many years ago Great Britain took possession, not only of this 
island, but also of the South Orkneys, the Sandwich Islands, the 
South Shetlands, and all that portion of the Antarctic continent 
situated south of America. We believe that the Government of King 
George V proposed to continue these annexations in the south polar 
regions, for which we may congratulate ourselves. Owing to the 
police system and the taxes established by the British Government, 
whaling in the Antarctic Seas is regulated to a certain degree, and 
the influx of too great a number of whalers is arrested. 

In conclusion, we may add that this industry does not require very 
large capital. The funds of the large Norwegian companies scarcely 
exceed one-and-a-half million francs, and when a rich whaling ground 
happens to be found the profits become enormous. In two years a 
company with a capital of 910,000 francs installed at South Georgia 
twice distributed a dividend of 130 per cent, besides adding a portion 
of the profit to various reserve funds and increasing the company’s 
resources 60 per cent. 


THE MOST ANCIENT SKELETAL REMAINS OF MAN. 


By Dr. A. HRprLicKa, 


Curator, Division of Physical Anthropology, U. S. National Museum. 


[With 41 plates and 12 figures.] 
INTRODUCTION. 


The early history of the human race, though merged in the dark- 
ness of ages, is step by step being traced and reconstructed; and 
apparently the time is drawing near when science will be able to 
announce, in the main at least, the definite solution of the profound 
and involved problem of man’s origin, when, in other words, it will 
be in a position to show, however imperfectly, when, where, and 
how man ascended from the lower orders. 

Actual research into the antiquity of mankind began considerably 
less than a century ago, and the more intensive investigations in this 
field cover hardly a generation. Such investigations have been 
fraught with many difficulties and are growing in complexity. They 
demand patient watchfulness, diligent and long-extended explora- 
tion, and considerable expense. The most careful attention must in 
every case be given to geological and paleontological evidence. 
And, after all, the net results of a prolonged quest may be no more 
than a few stone chips and implements, or perhaps a tooth, or a few 
badly crushed bones, belonging to human antiquity. But, as there 
are many hands at work, invaluable materials are accumulating. 
Besides this every now and then the search is more richly rewarded, 
or some important specimen is discovered accidentally; and every 
new, well-authenticated addition to the remains of early man or his 
predecessors, more particularly if it is a part of the skeleton, means 
a fresh, highly valuable document which throws supplementary light 
on the natural history of the human being. 

The explorations of recent years have been particularly fruitful. 
They were of wide extent geographically and have brought to science 
stores of primitive archeological remains, so that whole classes of 
ancient industries in stone could be determined; and they resulted 
in the recovery of example after example of well-authenticated 


491 


492 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


ancient skeletal remains representing men coeval with long-extinct 
animals, and with them dating far back into the Quaternary or Ice 
Epoch. 

The aggregate of the precious skeletal material here referred to is 
still far from being satisfactory from the standpoint of completeness, 
but it is already sufficient to afford solid groundwork for important 
scientific deductions as to man’s development; and happily explo- 
ration is going on with ever-increasing interest as well as precision. 
Hundreds of well-trained students are now watching and searching 
for new accessions with which to corroborate previous observations, 
to fill in the gaps, and to bring about a fuller understanding of the 
physical progress of man in the course of the ages. 

Europe, particularly in its more western and southern portions, 
has thus far proved the richest in ancient human remains. Africa, 
Asia, and those parts of Oceanica which were formerly connected 
with the Asiatic continent have as yet been but little explored. The 
island of Java, however, which is within the last-named region, has 
furnished an intensely interesting specimen bearing on man’s evo- 
lution and antiquity. As to America, the researches have thus far 
yielded nothing that could possibly be accepted as representing man 
of geological antiquity... For the present, therefore, an account of 
the very ancient remains of man, with the exception of the Java 
specimen, must be limited to early European forms. 

Such an account, in condensed form, is here presented. With the 
view of preparing this summary the writer, during part of the spring 
and summer of 1912 and under the auspices of the Smithsonian Insti- 
tution, undertook a personal examination of all the more important 
skeletal remains relating to early man now preserved in the museums 
of Europe. The cultural remains were given only passing attention, 
partly on account of their great numbers and partly because they 
pertain to a collateral branch of science, prehistoric archeology, 
which is rapidly making them known to the world.” The sites of the 
more noteworthy discoveries were visited, however, whenever cir- 
cumstances permitted. 

In this communication there will be described only the v very oldest 
of the human skeletal remains so far recovered. Besides these, the 
European museums possess numerous human crania and bones be- 
longing to more recent time and therefore not of such decided gen- 
eral interest as the older forms, and also some whose reported age 

2The question of Early Man in North and South America is dealt with in Bulletins 33 
and 52 (published respectively in 1907 and 1912) of the Bureau of American Ethnology, 
Smithsonian Institution ; these publications also contain the bibliography of the subject, 

2See “Recent discoveries bearing on the antiquity of man in Europe,” by G. G. Mac- 
Curdy, Smithsonian Report for 1909, Washington, 1910; the Comptes Rendus du Congrés 


International d’Anthropologie et d’Archéologie Préhistoriques, especially the sessions at 
Monaco and Geneva ; also L’Anthropologie,” ‘‘ Man,” and other anthropological periodicals. 


ANCIENT REMAINS OF MAN—HRDLICKA. 493 


is not generally regarded as well established. These two classes of 
specimens can not well be considered in this paper for it would 
thereby become unduly extended and possibly also involve contro- 
versy. 

The questions of the antiquity and origin of man are natural sub- 
jects of the greatest interest both to the scientist and to the layman, 
for they touch the very foundations of human beliefs, ethics, and 
organic progress in the future. Their detailed solution, also, is still 
far from us. But it may now be safely postulated that man did not 
appear on our planet as an entirely new and distinct being uncon- 
nected with the rest of terrestrial organic life; for he is anatomically 
as well as physiologically but a highly specialized mammal that still 
carries numerous though now more or less useless vestiges or re- 
minders of various lower stages through which he passed. Neither is 
there any good reason to regard him as the result of some freak of 
evolution, for his progress in the organic scale seems thoroughly logi- 
eal and, judging from what has been already learned on the subject, 
his ascent, though probably not uniformly accelerated, was on the 
whole slow. We shall seemingly come nearest the truth if we look 
upon him as on the ultimate result of gradual modification in the up- 
ward continuity or differentiation of a highly important group of 
organic forms. He may be regarded as the topmost and dominating 
bough on an ancient mammalian tree whose roots intertwine, some- 
where in the earlier Tertiary, with those of other vertebrate forms. 
From this tree various branches have doubtless diverged at different 
levels and become related species, some of these still persisting, while 
others have been long extinct. The stem began, so far as discernible, 
with lemurlike forms, from which in the course of time sprang, 
though scarcely in the order in which they now appear to us, the 
more simple and then the more highly organized primates. Among 
the latter then arose, it would appear, slowly or more likely rather 
suddenly, one or perhaps several forms characterized by more than 
the average physical instability; and the descendants of one or more 
of these strains, under the influence, in all probability, of changing 
environment, more especially food and climate, with perhaps other 
agencies, began more or less gradually to develop reduced teeth, 
larger brain, more erect posture, with increased facility of inter- 
communication; and this differentiation apparently progressed until 
some strain of these changing beings reached that hazy dividing line 
below which was still the realm of the apes but above which com- 
menced that of the true predecessors of man. 

The more immediate human precursors may be conceived of as 
forms which showed various individual advances anatomically, 
physiologically, and mentally toward man, as well as many morpho- 
logical and other reminders of and reversions to the ape; but they 


494 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


were unable to revert wholly to the latter. On the whole, they kept, 
probably irregularly, progressing toward man, and when eventually 
a part of them varied so far in the direction of the human being 
that a complete return even to their own former kind became im- 
possible, then, it may be conceived, the earliest representatives of 
man were established. These earliest men doubtless from the be- 
ginning lacked in uniformity; some strains of them, in all likeli- 
hood, lacked also in vitality or in sufficient adaptability to changing 
conditions and have disappeared; but others kept on modifying in 
the upward direction until in the course of long ages they reached 
the various somewhat unequally advanced types of man of the 
present day. 

The above deductions concerning man’s origin seem to be justified 
from the study of the material now at the disposal of the anthropolo- 
gist. The whole process of man’s rise, viewed comprehensively, 
appears as a most remarkable, multiple, progressive, sustained, pos- 
sibly more or less irregular, and not yet finished differentiation, the 
exact and enduring causes of which are not well understood. The 
various actual species of primates lower than man may in a sense be 
viewed as by-products of his own evolution, partly perhaps as his 
distant cousins, descendants from some of the old primate stocks, 
or as the retarded and aberrant relatives, unable or not called upon 
by their environment to keep up with his progress, and slowly modi- 
fying more or less sui generis. The old mono- and polygenistic 
theories dissolve, of course, equally before these closer assumptions. 

The final stages of the progression toward the human form, ac- 
cording to such light on the subject as we now have, began toward 
the close of the Tertiary period. By the end of the Tertiary it seems 
probable that there already existed some of the transitional forms, 
the predecessors of the human being, approaching present man in size 
of skull and brain, in the character of the teeth, in stature, in the 
form of the pelvis, and in other particulars. It is even possible that 
before the close of this period man’s precursors began the use of 
articulate language, and thus passed the somewhat more definite 
functional boundary separating these forerunners from man. But 
the bulk of the life history of the human being proper belongs to the 
Quaternary period, the period of repeated advances and retrogres- 
sions of glacial climate over the North Temperate Zone. The oldest 
known human remains have been found in deposits and with the 
bones of extinct animals of glacial or interglacial times. As we 
go backward into that period we find that the human forms and 
in general also the products of human activities become more primi- 
tive. On the other hand, after the last glacial recession, some eight 
thousand or more years ago, man was already physically much like 
he is to-day. 


ANCIENT REMAINS OF MAN—HRDLICKA. 495 


The time that has elapsed since the new anthropoid, or rather 
superanthropoid beings progressing toward man developed the phy- 
sical characteristics that may be regarded as distinctively human, 
and acquired the faculty of speech, can not be computed in years, 
but the length of that period must have been many times greater 
than the duration of our recent or Holocene epoch, the relatively 
brief phase since the recession of the last ice invasion.? 


Tue Ovpest WELL-AUTHENTICATED SKELETAL REMAINS or Man Now 
EXISTING. 


THE ‘ PITHECANTHROPUS.” 


(Pithecanthropus erectus Dubois.) 


In 1891-92 Dr. E. Dubois, then a surgeon in the Dutch Army, 
while engaged in paleontological excavations along the left bank of 
the Bengavan River, near Trinil, in the central part of the Island of 
Java, discovered several skeletal parts of a primate evidently higher 
in scale and nearer to man than any before known. 

The remains were thoroughly petrified and comprised, in all, the 
. vault of a skull, two molar teeth, and a femur. 

The bones were not found simultaneously nor in the same place. 
They lay some distances apart, though at the same horizon and em- 
bedded in the same stratum of volcanic matrix. This stratum was 
rich in fossil remains of various organic forms and, in the locality 
where the excavations were carried on, was about 1 meter below the 
dry-season water level, or 12 to 15 meters below the plain in which 
the river had cut its bed. 

In September, 1891, the excavations in the voleanic matrix yielded 
unexpectedly, among other fossils, a remarkable tooth, a molar, 
which was determined as having belonged to a large unknown pri- 
mate. A month later the unique and most interesting skull cap 
was discovered, only 1 meter distant from the place where lay the 
tooth. It now became certain that traces had come to light of a hith- 
erto unknown primate of large size, standing in many respects nearer 
to man than any of the actual anthropoid apes. It was seemingly an 
intermediate form between the apes and man, and was characterized 
by the name of “ pithecanthropus.” 

Then came the rainy season and work had to be suspended. Ex- 
ploration was recommenced, however, as early as possible in 1892, 
and in August of that year the femur was found about 15 meters 
(50 feet) from the locality where the other specimens had been em- 


1For the duration and subdivision of the Glacial Epoch the following works may be 
consulted: T. E. Chamberlin and R. D. Salisbury’s Geology, 1906; Osborn, H. F., The 
age of mammals in Europe, Asia, and North America; H. Obermaier, Der Mensch der 
Vorzeit, 8°, Berlin, 1912; and R. R. Schmidt, E. Koken and A. Schliz, Die Diluviale Vor- 
zeit Deutschlands, 4°, Stuttgart, 1912. These works give further bibliography. 


496 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


bedded. Finally, in October of the same year, the second molar was 
secured, at a distance of not more than 3 meters (13 feet) from the 
original position of the skull cap, and in the direction of the resting 
place of the femur. 

The accompanying illustrations (pl.‘ and text fig. 1) show the 
locality of the discovery and the approximate positions of the speci- 
mens. 


Fig. 1.—SECTION OF THE OSSIFEROUS STRATA AT THE LOCALITY WHERE THE 
PITHECANTHROPUS BONES WERE DISCOVERED. A, AREA OF GROWING 
PLANTS; B, SOFT SANDSTONE; C, LAPILLI STRATUM; D, LEVEL AT WHICH 

_ THE SKELETAL REMAINS WERE FOUND; E, CONGLOMERATE; F, ARGILLA~ 
CEOUS LAYER; G, MARINE BRECCIA; H, WET-SEASON LEVEL OF THE RIVER; 
T, DRY-SEASON LEVEL OF THE RIVER. (After Dubois, Smithsonian Report 
for 1898.) 


All four specimens were considerably mineralized, being of choco- 
late-brown color, very heavy, and “harder than marble.” Numer- 
ous bones of mammals found in the same bed belonged to species 
now extinct or, so far as known, not now living in Java, and showed 
fossilization similar to that of the bones of the Pithecanthropus. 
The contours of the teeth and the femur were sharp, indicating that 


1 After Mme. L. Selenka and M. Blankenhorn: Die Pithecanthropus-Schichten auf Java, 
4°, Leipzig, 1911. 

2From the Smithsonian Report for 1898, p. 446, article Pithecanthropus erectus, by 
Eugéne Dubois (translated from the Anatomischer Anzeiger, vol. 12, pp. 1-22); original 
in Trans. Royal Dublin Soc., vol. 6, 1896, pp. 1-18. 


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ANCIENT REMAINS OF MAN-——HRDLICKA. 497 


it has not been washed or rolled about to any great extent; but the 
skull cap showed the effects of erosion, probably caused by acidulous 
water seeping through the deposits. 

All indications and a detailed study of the specimens led Dubois 
to the conclusions that: (1) The four skeletal pieces in question were 
contemporaneous; (2) they were of the age of the stratum in which 
found; (3) they belonged to one skeleton; and (4) they represent a 
transitional form of beings between the anthropoid apes and man, 
belonging to the direct line in the genealogy of the latter. 

‘The first published announcement of the discovery by Dubois ap- 
peared in 1894;* to-day the subject possesses already a relatively 
large literature of its own.’ A special expedition of two years’ dura- 
tion has also since worked on the site of the discovery,* and the 
remains are regarded universally as of the greatest scientific value; 
but the final word concerning their exact age and true biological 
position has not yet been pronounced. 

It should be stated at once that there is no room for doubt as to 
the place of discovery of the several bones and their geological or 
paleontological relations. The several pieces were found in situ, 
in the progress of scientific exploration, by a careful and competent 
observer. But the precise age of the stratum in which they lay, and 
their exact biological position among related forms, are not yet ab- 
solutely delimited. While Dubois and other scientific men regard 
the Pithecanthropus remains as all belonging to the same skeleton, 
as dating chronologically from the latest part of the Tertiary or the 
earliest phase of the Quaternary period, and as representing a true 
intermediary form between the anthropoid apes and man, others 
have expressed doubts as to whether the four bones belong to the 


1 Pithecanthropus erectus. Eine menschenibhnliche Uebergangsform aus Java. Von 
Eug. Dubois, Militararzt der Niederlandischen Armee. Mitt zwei Tafeln und drei in den 
Text gedruckten Figuren., 4°, Batavia, 1894. 

2 Few of the more important English contributions to the subject are: 

Marsh, O. C. On the Pithecanthropus erectus Dubois, from Java. (Amer. Journ. Sci., 
Feb. 1895.) On the Pithecanthropus erectus, from the Tertiary of Java. ( Ibid., 4th ser., 
vol. 1, 1896, pp. 475-482.) 

Turner, William. On M. Dubois’s description of remains recently found in Java, named 
by him Pithecanthropus erectus, with remarks on the so-called transitional forms between 
Apes and Man. (Journ. Anat. and Physiol., vol. 29, 1895, pp. 424-445.) 

Dubois, E. On Pithecanthropus erectus: a transitional form between man and the 
apes. (Journ. Anthrop. Instit. Great Britain and Ireland, Feb. 1896, pp. 240-255; Trans. 
Royal Dublin Soc., ser. 2, vol. 6, Dublin, 1898, pp. 1-18; Smithsonian Report for 1898 
(Washington, 1899), pp. 445-459.) 

Manouvrier, L. On Pithecanthropus erectus. Transl. by G. G. MacCurdy. (Amer, 
Journ. Sci., 4th ser., vol. 4, Sept. 1897, pp. 213-234.) 

Hepburn, David. The Trinil femur (Pithecanthropus erectus) contrasted with the 
femora of various savage and civilized races. (Rep. 66th meeting Brit. Assoc. Adv. Sci., 
1897, pp. 926-927.) 

For literature in other languages see especially G. Schwalbe, Studien ti. Pithecanthropus 
erectus Dubois. (Zeitschr. f. Morphologie und Anthropologie, Bd. 1, Stuttgart, 1899, pp. 
1-240, bibliogr. 234-240.) 

®* Under Mme. Selenka ; see “‘ Die Pithecanthropus-Schichten auf Java,” by Mme, Lenore 
Selenka and M. Blankenhorn, 4°, Leipzig, 1911. 


44863 °—sm 19183——32 


498 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913, 


same form; or they consider the age of the remains, though no 
doubt early Quaternary, to be less than that estimated by Dubois; 
and finally some incline to regard the remains as those of early man 
rather than an intermediary being, while still others consider that 
they represent merely a superior extinct form of ape.* 


BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SPECIMENS. 


(Plates 2, 3, text fig. 2.) 


On account of peculiar circumstances an attempt to describe first 
hand the important pieces under consideration meets with serious 
difficulties. It would surely seem proper and desirable that speci- 
mens of such value to science should be freely accessible to well- 
qualified investigators and that accurate casts be made available to 
scientific institutions, particularly after 20 years have elapsed since 
the discovery of the originals. Regrettably, however, all that has 
thus far been furnished to the scientific world is a cast of the skull 
cap, the commercial replicas of which yield measurements different 
from those reported taken of the original, and several not thoroughly 
satisfactory illustrations; no reproductions can be had of the femur 
and the teeth, and not only the study but even a view of the origi- 
nals, which are still in the care of their discoverer, are denied to sci- 
entific men. Under these anomalous conditions it is only possible 
to follow Dr. Dubois’s old information.” 

The skull cap (pl. 2) measures in greatest length 18.5 (on cast 
18.1) cm., in greatest (parietal) breadth 13 (on cast 13.3) cm., and 
at the minimum of the frontal constriction 8.7 em.? It is dolicho- 
cephalic, its outline as seen from above is oblongly ovoid, narrowing 
considerably forward, and it is very low. It presents excessively 
prominent though not massive supraorbital arch and a very sloping 
front. The frontal bone, in addition, shows externally and along its 
middle a well-defined ridge, running from a short distance above the 
glabella toward bregma, and a marked low protuberance just forward 
of the bregma. The sagittal region is relatively flat and smooth, and 
the occiput presents a dull transverse crest, connecting as in apes, 
though in much less pronounced manner, with the supramastoid crest 
on each side. 


1 For numerous of the earlier phases of these controversies see Dubois’s paper in the 
Transactions of the Royal Dublin Society; also that in the Smithsonian Report for 1898, 
p. 449 et seq. 

2 The extended and meritorious work on the skull by Schwalbe (op. cit.) was made on 
a cast, which evidertly was in all respects identical with the one in the U. S. National 
Museum, but the measurements on which do not exactly agree with those given by Dubois 
on the original. These differences, however unfortunate, do not, of course, in any way 
detract from the importance of the original. 

3For comparison it may be stated that similar measurements on an ordinary white 
male American dolichocephalic cranium give approximately 19.1, 14.3, and 10 centimeters ; 
on female, 18.3, 13.7, and 9.6 centimeters. 


Smithsonian Report, 1913—Hrdlicka. PLATE 2. 


Ja. PITHECANTHROPUS ERECTUS, SKULLCAP, FROM LEFT SIDE (ONE-HALF NATURAL SIZE). 
2a, ANTHROPOPITHECUS TROGLODYTES, ADULT FEMALE SKULL, FROM LEFT SIDE (TWo- 
THIRDS NATURAL SIZE). 


(After Dubois, Smithsonian Report for 1898.) 


PLATE 3. 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Hrdlicka, 


(1.) PITHECANTHROPUS ERECTUS, SKULLCAP, FROM ABOVE (ONE-HALF NATURAL SIZE). 
(2.) ANTHROPOPITHECUS TROGLODYTES, ADULT FEMALE SKULL, FROM ABOVE (TWO-THIRDS 
NATURAL SIZE). 


(After Dubois, Smithsonian Report for 1898. ) 


ANCIENT REMAINS OF MAN-——HRDLICKA. 499 


Without going into a detailed discussion of these characteristics, 
it will suffice to say that in most respects the specimen differs more 
or less from the ordinary human skull of to-day as well as from those 
of early man, so far as known, and approaches correspondingly the 
crania of the anthropoid apes. 

The temporal ridges, marking on the parieties of the vault the 
upper limit of the temporal muscles and fascia, are well defined but 
run rather distant (about 4 em. on each side) from the median line, 
as in female anthropoids and in man. This suggests that the cranium 


Fic. 2.—ATTEMPT AT A RESTORATION OF THE SKULL OF THE PITHECANTHROPUS ERECTUS HALF 
THE NATURAL sizE. (After Dubois, Smithsonian Report for 1898.) 


may be feminine. The whole remnant, in fact, presents rather sub- 
dued forms, such as would more readily be expected in a female 
than in a male being at that stage of evolution. 

_ The walls of the skull are of only moderate thickness. Its internal 
capacity was originally believed by Dubois to have been quite large, 
namely about 1,000 c. c., but eventually he reduced this estimate to 
900 c. c. or a little over. The capacity of an average cranium of a 
white American would amount in the male to about 1,500, in the 
female to about 1,350 c. c., while in the largest living anthropoid 
apes it only rarely attains or exceeds 600 c. ¢. 


500 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


The impression which a comprehensive study of the whole skull 
cap carries to the observer is, that it represents a hitherto unknown 
primate form, which, whatever it may eventually be identified with 
and whether or not man’s direct ancestor, stands morphologically 
between man and the known anthropoid apes, fills an important space 
in the hitherto existing large void between the two, and constitutes 
a precious document for the natural history of man. | 

Dubois’s theoretical restoration of the whole cranium of the Pithe- 
canthropus, which in all probability comes fairly near to the reality, 
is shown in the foregoing illustration (fig. 2). 

The two teeth attributed to the Pithecanthropus are the second left 
and the third right upper molars. The latter is shown, in reduction, 
on plate 4. According to Dubois, they both present the same type, 
which, particularly in the development of the cusps, is markedly ape- 
like; but Tomes! pronounces them “not exactly like any known 
teeth, either human or simian.” Judging from the models of these 
teeth which the writer saw at Haarlem, they are decidedly unlike 
any human molars, but approach those of the higher anthropoids. 
Both have bulky but rather low crowns, and stout, not too long, 
strongly diverging roots. In size they exceed considerably the same 
teeth in man, as will be seen from the comparisons given herewith; 
their relative dimensions (that is, the ratio of breadth to length) 
are, however, rather nearer the human form than that in most of 
the large apes. 


Comparison of the corresponding molars of modern white man and the Pithe- 


canthropus. 
Second left upper | Third right upper 
molar. molar. 
Sena | Gri 
eng readt Gitatert \iGreuisat 
(sagittal| (trans- reates reates 
diam- | verse di-| Jensth. | breadth. 
eter). | ameter) 
7 mm. mm. mm. mm. 
Average white man, approximate..........-.....------+--+..-- 9.5 11.0 9.0 10.5 


POE RI DETOPU sae ee eae latte = abelian we winels sie cele eso aintajove 12.0 14.0 11.3 15.3 


On the whole, it seems evident that the two teeth represent a higher 
primate form; in all probability they come from one individual, 
and their morphological characteristics are such that they may well 
have belonged to the same species or even the same individual as the 
before-described skullcap. Their size, as seen from a comparison 
with the teeth of larger existing anthropoid apes, is not incompatible 
with the size of the skullcap, and that even if the latter belonged 
to a female individual. 


1Dental anatomy, 8°, London, 1904, p. 560. 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Hrdlicka. PLaTe 4. 


ASR rms errr e 


i 
' 


PITHECANTHROPUS ERECTUS. 


Left femur: 1, from before; 2, from side; 3, from behind; 4, from below; 5, lower end from median 
side; 6, right third upper molar, from below; 6a, from behind. (Reduced, after Dubois, from 
Smithsonian Report for 1898.) 


(uosMRdg soplRyD 1903) y) 


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ANCIENT REMAINS OF MAN—HRDLICKA. 501 


The Trinil femur (pl. 4), according to Dubois, Manouvrier, and 
others, bears a close resemblance to the human thigh bone, both in 
size and shape; nevertheless judging from the illustration it presents 
also some important differences. Its length, 45.5 em., equals that of a 
human femur from a man 1.70 meters (5 feet, 7 inches) in stature, 
and of proportionate strength. Notwithstanding these dimensions, 
however, the relatively large inclination of the bone from the vertical 
when stood up on its condyles, and the relatively moderate-sized 
head and lower articular extremity, suggest that, as was the case 
with the skullcap, the bone may proceed from a female. 

The femur plainly belonged to a strong being maintaining erect or 
near-erect posture and marching mostly or entirely biped, as man. 

The principal differences of the bone from a modern human femur 
consist in its less-marked antero-posterior curve, in a more evenly 
cylindrical shaft, in the more mesial position of the smaller tro- 
chanter, in the intertrochanteric line being less raised and hence 
more simian in character, and in the popliteal space which, as a rule 
concave from side to side in present man, is convex in the Trinil 


specimen. 
THE “EOANTHROPUS DAWSONI.” 


A somewhat problematical as yet but deeply interesting find of 
ancient human skeletal remains has recently come to hght in Eng- 
land. The specimen representing this discovery is an imperfect 
eranium, with a part of the lower jaw and a canine tooth. It is 
known as the Sussex or Piltdown skull, or more technically as the 
Foanthropus Dawsoni, and its preservation is due to Mr. Charles 
Dawson. It is deposited in the British Museum of Natural History 
at Kensington and was first reported, with the circumstances of 
the find, on December 18, 1912, before the London Geological 
Society.? 

The history of this specimen, as given by Mr. Dawson, illustrates 
the usefulness and need, especially in the Old World, of scientific 
supervision of excavations. Mr. Dawson’s statement is as follows:? 

Several years ago I was walking along a farm road close to Piltdown Com- 
mon, Fletching (Sussex), when I noticed that the road had been mended with 
some peculiar brown flints not usual in the district. On inquiry I was aston- 
ished to learn that they were dug from a gravel bed on the farm, and shortly 


1The circumference of the shaft at middle is 9 em., or one-fifth of the length of the 
bone, which proportion is often equaled in present man; the breadth at middle is 2.75 em, 
Numerous other measurements of the bone are given in Dubois’s “ Pithecanthropus 
erectus,” ete., 4°, Batavia, 1894, p. 21, et seq. 

2 Dawson, Charles, A. Smith Woodward, and G. Elliot Smith. On the discovery of a 
Palaeolithic skull and mandible in a flint-bearing gravel overlying the Wealden (Hastings 
beds) at Piltdown, Fletching (Sussex). (Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc. for March, 1913, vol. 
69, pp. 117-144.) See also Haddon, A. C., Eoanthropus Dawsoni (Science, Jan. 17, 1913, 
pp. 91-92) ; and MacCurdy, G. G., Ancestor hunting: The significance of the Piltdown 
skull (Amer. Anthropologist, vol. 15, 1913, pp. 248-256). 

$1. c., p, 117 et seq. 


502 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


afterwards I visited the place, where two laborers were at work digging the 
gravel for small repairs to the roads. As this excavation was situated about 
four miles north of the limit where the occurrence of flints overlying the 
Wealden strata is recorded I was much interested and made a close examina- 
tion of the bed. I asked the workmen if they had found bones or other fossils 
there. As they did not appear to have noticed anything of the sort I urged 
them to preserve anything that they might find. Upon one of my subsequent 
visits to the pit, one of the men handed to me a small portion of an unusually 
thick human parietal bone. I immediately made a search, but could find noth- 
ing more nor had the men noticed anything else. The bed is full of tabular 
pieces of ironstone closely resembling this piece of skull in color and thickness ; 
and, although I made many subsequent searches, I could not hear of any fur- 
ther find nor discover anything—in fact, the bed seemed to be quite 
unfossiliferous. 

It was not until some years later, in the autumn of 1911, on a visit to the 
spot, that I picked up, among the rain-washed spoil heaps of the gravel pit, 
another and larger piece belonging to the frontal region of the same skull, in- 
cluding a portion of the left superciliary ridge * * *. 

I took the bones to Dr. A. Smith Woodward at the British Museum (Natural 
History) for comparison and determination. He was immediately impressed 
with the importance of the discovery, and we decided to employ labor, and to 
make a systematic search among the spoil heaps and gravel as soon as the 
floods had abated, for the gravel pit is more or less under water during five 
or six months of the year. We accordingly gave up as much time as we could 
spare since last spring (1912) and completely turned over and sifted what 
spoil material remained; we also dug up and sifted such portions of the gravel 
as had been left undisturbed by the workmen * * *, 

At Piltdown the gravel bed occurs beneath a few inches of the surface soil 
and varies in thickness from 3 to 5 feet * * *. 

Portions of the bed are rather finely stratified, and the materials are usually 
cemented together by iron oxide, so that a pick is often needed to dislodge 
portions—more especially at one particular horizon near the base. It is in 
this last mentioned stratum that all the fossil bones and teeth discovered in 
situ by us have occurred. The stratum is easily distinguished in the appended 
photograph (pl. 5) by being of the darkest shade and just above the bedrock. 

The gravel is situated on a well-defined plateau of large area * * * and 
lies about 80 feet above the level of the main stream of the Ouse. 


Since the deposition of the gravel the river has cut through the 
plateau, both with its main stream and its principal branch, to this 
extent. 


Considering the amount of material excavated and sifted by us, the speci- 
mens discovered were numerically small and localized. 

Apparently the whole or greater portion of the human skull had been shat- 
tered by the workmen, who had thrown away the pieces unnoticed. Of these 
we recovered from the spoil heaps as many fragments as possible. In a 
somewhat deeper depression of the undisturbed gravel I found the right half 
of a human mandible. So far as I could judge, guiding myself by the position 
of a tree 3 or 4 yards away, the spot was identical with that upon which the 
men were at work when the first portion of the cranium was found several 
years ago. Dr. Woodward also dug up a small portion of the occipital bone 
of the skull from within a yard of the point where the jaw was discovered and 
at precisely the same level. The jaw appeared to have been broken at the 
symphysis and abraded, perhaps when it lay fixed in the gravel and before 


ANCIENT REMAINS OF MAN—HRDLICKA. 503 


its complete deposition. The fragments of eranium show little or no sign of 
rolling or other abrasion, save an incision at the back of the parietal, probably 
eaused by a workman’s pick. 

A small fragment of the skull has been weighed and tested by Mr. S. A. 
Woodhead, M. Se, F. I. C., public analyst for Hast Sussex and Hove, and 
agricultural analyst for East Sussex. He reports that the specific gravity of 
the bone (powdered) is 2.115 (water at 5° C. as standard). No gelatine or 
organic matter is present. There is a large proportion of phosphates (origi- 
nally present in the bone) and a considerable proportion of iron. Silica is 
absent. 

Besides the human remains, we found two small broken pieces of a molar 
tooth of a rather early Pliocene type of elephant, also a much-rolled cusp 
of a molar of Mastodon, portions of two teeth of Hippopotamus, and two molar 
teeth of a Pleistocene beaver. In the adjacent field to the west, on the surface 
close to the hedge dividing it from the gravel bed, we found portions of a red 
deer’s antler and the tooth of a Pleistocene horse. These may have been 
thrown away by the workmen, or may have been turned up by a plough which 
traversed the upper strata of the continuation of this gravel bed. Among 
the fragments of bone found in the spoil heaps occurred part of a deer’s meta- 
tarsal, split longitudinally. This bone bears upon its surface eertain small cuts 
and scratches which appear to have been made by man. All the specimens are 
highly mineralized with iron oxide. * * * 

Among the flints we found several undoubted flint implements, besides numer- 
OUSHHOHENSS eta er 


From the above Mr. Dawson believed himself justified in drawing 
the following conclusions: 


It is clear that this stratified gravel at Piltdown is of Pleistocene age, but 
that it contains in its lowest stratum animal remains derived from some de- 
stroyed Pliocene deposit probably situated not far away and consisting of 
worn and broken fragments. These were mixed with fragments of early 
Pleistocene mammalia in a better state of preservation, and both forms were 
associated with the human skull and mandible, which show no more wear and 
tear than they might have received in situ. Associated with these animal 
remains are Eoliths, both in a rolled and an unrolled condition; the former are 
doubtless derived from an older drift, and the latter in their present form aré 
of the age of the existing deposit. In the same bed, in only a very slightly 
higher stratum, occurred a flint implement, the workmanship of which resem- 
bles that of implements found at Chelles, and among the spoils heaps were 
found others of a similar, though perhaps earlier, stage. 

From these facts it appears probable that the skull and mandible can not 
safely be described as being of earlier date than the first half of the Pleisto- 
cene (or Glacial) epoch. The individual probably lived during a warm cycle 
of that age. 


The anthropological report on the specimen by Dr. Woodward 
brings forth the following main details: 

The human remains comprise the greater part of a brain case and one ramus 
of the mandible, with lower molars 1 and 2. All the bones are normal, with 
no traces of disease, and they have not been distorted during mineralization. 

Of the brain case there are four pieces (reconstructed from nine 
fragments) sufficiently well preserved to exhibit the shape and nat- 
ural relations of a larger part of the vault and to justify the recon- 


504 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


struction of some other features. These bones are particularly note- 
worthy for their thickness, which reaches 20 mm. at the internal » 
occipital protuberance and 10 mm. along the greater part of the 
fractured edges of the frontal and parietals. The average thickness 
of modern European skulls, except in the locality of the various 
ridges and sutures, varies between 4 and 6 mm. 


The greater portion of the brain case may be reconstructed without any 
hypothetical restoration, the only serious deficiency being the middle portion 
of the frontal region above and including the larger portion of the supraorbital 
ridge. Such a reconstruction, with a justifiable amount of modeling, has been 
skillfully made by Mr. Frank O. Barlow in the Palaeontological Laboratory of 
the British Museum. * * * It is shown in plate 6. 


The reconstructed cranium (pl. 6) is evidently that of an adult, 
but not old, female. Seen from above, it shows a short ovoid out- 
line. It is wide posteriorly, measuring 15.0 cm: across its widest 
part, just behind the zygomatic arch, and tapering moderately for- 
ward to a slight constriction behind the supraorbital ridge, where 
its width (the diameter frontal minimum) is 11.2 em. The total 
length from the middle of the supraorbital ridge (glabella) to the 
external occipital protuberance (inion) is uncertain, owing to the 
hypothetical restoration of the frontals, but it measured probably 
not far from 19.0 cm. The cephalic index may have been, therefore. 
somewhere about 78 or 79. 


In anterior view the relative narrowness of the frontal region is well shown, 
and the vault is seen to rise to the vertex at the widest part of the skull. In 
side view this upward slope is still better seen, and the steeply curved frontal 
contour is especially noteworthy. The external occipital protuberance (inion) 
seems to form the hindmost point of the cranium, though the portion of the 
occipital immediately above it is in an almost vertical plane. 

In back view the contour of the skull is very remarkable. It is relatively low 
and wide, and gently arched above, with the sides flattened in their upper half, 
and the mastoid region either vertical or slightly inclined inward. * * * 

A detailed examination of the several bones of the skull is interesting, as 
proving the typically human character of nearly all the features that they 
exhibit. The only noteworthy reminiscences of the ape are met with in the 
upward extension of the temporal fosse and in the low and broad shape of the 
occiptial region. The frontal region, which is complete on the left side and in 
its upper middle portions, shows a fairly developed forehead, with well-rounded 
frontal eminence. Judging from the remainder of the supraorbital border, it 
is clear that there can not have been any prominent or thickened supraorbital 
ridge, and in consequence of this the missing parts of the frontal region were 
restored on the plan of an ordinary human skull— 


which was, perhaps, not fully justifiable. 


The temporal crest is sharply developed over the frontal and parietals. 

Immediately behind the middle of the coronal suture the parietal region is 
distinctly flattened; but as it expands backward, the roof soon rises to a broad 
roundel vertex. The parietal eminences are conspicuous. The nearest ap- 


(‘pase M poo A pur UuosSMeRG IAITV) 


INOSMVG SNGOYHLNVOFR JO SIFIGNVIA] GNV 1T1NXS SHL SO NOILVYOLSSY LSYl4 


"9 3ALV1d "EX91|PAH— "E161 ‘Hoday ueiuosyziws 


ANCIENT REMAINS OF MAN—HRDLIGKA. 505 


proach of the upper line of the temporal crest to the sagittal suture is 36 mm., 
a distance frequently equaled in the present man. The parietal suture is com- 
pletely obliterated, but the lambdoid is open and parts of it show well-devel- 
oped serration. The squamous suture is well arched, as in the typical modern 
human skull. 

The occipital bone is remarkable both for its relatively great width, 
and for the large area and flattenings of its smooth upper portion. 
The external occipital protuberance and the muscular ridges are 
well marked. 

The left temporal bone, which is excellently preserved, is “ typi- 
cally human in every detail,” and corresponds closely with the same 
bone in a comparatively modern human skull. The mastoid is rather 
small. 

The capacity of the brain-case can not, of course, be exactly determined ; 
but measurements both by millet-seed and by water show that it must have 
been at least 1,070 cc., while a consideration of the missing parts suggests that 
it may have been a little more. It therefore agrees closely with the capacity 
of the brain-case of the Gibraltar skull, as determined by Prof. Keith, and 
equals that of some of the lowest skulls of the existing Australians. It is 
much below that of the Mousterian skulls from Spy and La Chapelle-aux-Saints. 

The intercranial cast shows, according to Elliot Smith, “a con- 
siderable resemblance to the well-known palaeolithic brain-casts, and 
especially to those obtained from the Gibraltar and La Quina re- 
mains, * * * Like these it is relatively long, narrow, and 
especially flat; but it is smaller and presents more primitive fea- 
tures than any known human brain or cranial cast.” Marked 
peculiarities of conformation are shown particularly in the parietal 
and temporal region. The length of the left cerebral hemisphere 
was only 16.3 cm., due to the thickness of the bones, while the maxi- 
mum breadth of the brain (located lower down than usual), was 
13.0 cm., the maximum height 10.6 cm.t. The author concludes that 
“taking all its features into consideration, we must regard this as 
being the most primitive and most simian human brain so far re- 
corded; one, moreover, such as might reasonably have been expected 
to be associated in one and the same individual with the mandible, 
which so definitely indicates the zoological rank of its original 
possessor.” 

As regards the lower jaw and the teeth it will be best to quote 
again from Dr. Woodward. According to this observer: “ While the 
skull, indeed, is evidently human, only approaching a lower grade 
in certain characters of the brain in the attachment for the neck, the 
extent of the temporal muscles and in the probably large size of the 

1The brain of a white male from Ireland, whose skull possessed very nearly the same 


external measurements (length 19 ecm., breadth 14.9 cm.), gave the writer 17 em. in 
length, 13.8 cm. in breadth, and 11.8 em. in height. 


506 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


face, the mandible appears to be almost precisely that of an ape, 
with nothing human except the molar teeth * * *.” What there 
is of the lower jaw shows the same mineralized condition as the skull, 
and the specimen “ corresponds sufficiently well in size to be referred 
to the same individual without any hesitation.” It is fairly well 
preserved. “It lacks the condyle and a larger part of the symphysis 
with most of the dental arch, but retains the first two molars, as well 
as the socket for the third. The ascending ramus is relatively broad. 
The bone is massive and its outer surface is deeply marked with 
irregular hollows for the insertion of a powerful masseter muscle. 
The horizontal ramus measures only about 27 mm. in height behind, 
but must have been a little higher forward. There is a great width 
of the temporal insertion, the mylohyoid groove is situated behind 
rather than in line with the dental foramen, and there is a complete 
absence of the mylohyoid ridge—all characters of the mandible in 
apes, not in man. As the horizontal ramus curves round to the sym- 
physis its lower margin exhibits an increasingly wider flattening, 
which begins beneath the second molar, slopes upward and out- 
ward, and ends in front in the strongly retreating chin. The inner 
edge of this flattening is sharply rounded, and at the symphysis 
itself the inner face of the jaw is so much depressed in its lower part 
that the bone here has the form of a nearly horizontal plate or flange, 
closely similar to that found in all the apes. The genio-hyo-glossal 
and genio-hyoid muscles, in fact, must have had their origin in a 
deep pit, as in the apes; while the digastric can only have been 
inserted on the edge of the bony flange instead of extending far over 
the lower border asin man. Unfortunately, the absence of the upper 
part of the symphysis does not allow of a precise restoration of the 
specimen. As, however, the whole of the bone preserved closely 
resembles that of a young chimpanzee, it seemed reasonable to restore 
the fossil on this model and make the slope of the bony chin inter- 
mediate between that of the adult ape and that of Homo heidel- 
bergensis (pl. 7). If this restoration proved to be correct then the 
alveolar border was so long that it would be necessary to assume the 
presence of a relatively large, though probably not very prominent 
canine. The two molar teeth are noteworthy for their considerable 
length in proportion to their width and in each being provided with 
a large fifth cusp. They are, although distinctly human, of the most 
primitive type, and must be regarded as reminiscent of the apes in 
their narrowness.” * * * 

The above were the essentials of the information we possessed 
about the Piltdown specimens up to recently. Meanwhile the find 
has been discussed at the late meeting (August, 1918) of the British 
Association for the Advancement of Science, as well as in some pub- 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Hrdliéka. PLATE 7. 


RESTORATION OF THE PILTDOWN MANDIBLE (B), COMPARED WITH THAT 
OF MAN (C) AND YOUNG CHIMPANZEE (A), IN LEFT SIDE VIEW. 


(After A. Smith Woodward.) 


ANCIENT REMAINS OF MAN—HRDLICKA. 507 


lications, and the latest of these is another important paper by 
Messrs. Dawson and Woodward,! in which appear details of con- 
siderable additional interest. From this publication we learn that 
the researches by the authors in the Piltdown gravel have continued; 
and that the whole bed at the locality of the find was found divided 
into four well-defined strata. The topmost of these consists of sur- 
face soil, with pieces of iron-stained subangular flint derived from 
some ancient gravel and similar to the flints beneath. This surface 
soil also contains a mixture of pottery and implements of various 
ages. Beneath is the second bed of “undisturbed” gravel varying 
from a few inches to three feet in thickness. A paleolithic imple- 
ment figured in the former paper by the writers has been found in 
this layer, which contains rolled and subangular flints similar to 
those found above and below. The third stratum, though not always 
present, is well marked where it does occur by reasons of its dark 
ferruginous appearance, and chiefly consists of pieces of ironstone 
and rolled and subangular flints deeply patinated and iron stained. 
All the fossil bones, animal and human, with the exception of the 
remains of a deer, were discovered in or have been traced to this 
third dark bed, which rests unevenly upon a fourth layer, consisting 
of very pale yellow, finely divided sand and clay. 

The whole of the work was perforce carried on very slowly, and 
it was found impossible to employ more than one laborer, “ for the 
actual excavation had to be closely watched, and each spadeful care- 
fully examined. The gravel was then either washed with a sieve, or 
strewn on specially prepared ground for the rain to wash it; after 
which the layer thus spread was mapped out in squares, and minutely 
examined section by section.” 

While the laborer was digging the disturbed gravel within two or 
three feet from the spot where the mandible was found, Mr. Dawson 
“saw two human nasal bones lying together with the remains of a 
turbinated bone beneath them in situ.” In the gravel excavated 
within a radius of five yards of the spot where the mandible was 
found, Father Teilhard de Chardin, who worked for a few days 
with the authors, found on August 30, 19138, a remarkable canine 
tooth, which, according to Messrs. Dawson and Woodward, belongs 
to the Eoanthropus. 

There were also found in the same vicinity two evidently worked 
flints with a flint flake; and there were also recovered fragments of 
teeth of the stegodon, rhinoceros, and mastodon. 

The conclusions of Messrs Dawson and Woodward are that the 
third or dark bed is, in the main, composed of Pliocene drift, prob- 
ably reconstructed in the Pleistocene epoch. 


1 Supplementary Note on the Discovery of a Paleolithic Human Skull and Mandible at 
Piltdown (Sussex) ; Quart. Journ. Geological Society, Londoa, April, 1914, pp 81-99. 


508 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


“As regards the human remains discovered, including the canine 
tooth, there is nothing in their mode of occurrence to favor the idea 
that they may have belonged to different individuals. Putting aside 
the human remains and those of the beaver, the remains of the fauna 
all point to a characteristic land fauna of Pliocene age; and, though 
all are portions of hard teeth, they are rolled and broken. The 
human remains, on the other hand, although of much softer material, 
are not rolled, and the remains of beaver are in a similar condition. 
It would, therefore, seem that the occurrence of these two individuals 
belongs to one of the periods of reconstruction of this gravel, though 
for other reasons before stated by us, this is not perfectly certain.” 

The newly-found nasal bones (pl. 8) are “comparatively stout, 
and they are thickened at the upper border, suggesting a massive 
and somewhat overhanging browridge. * * * Comparison proves 
that these nasal bones resemble those of the Melanesian and African 
races, rather than those of the Eurasian type.” 

The remarkable new canine tooth (pl. 8) “is certainly that of a 
primate mammal, and may therefore be referred without hesitation 
to Eoanthropus. As it belongs to the right side of the mandible, 
corresponds in size with the jaw already found at the same spot, 
and agrees with the molar teeth in having been considerably worn 
by mastication, it may almost certainly be regarded as part of the 
specimen previously described. The crown of the tooth is conical in 
shape, but laterally compressed. * * * The tooth is distinctly 
larger than any hitherto found in genus Homo and differs funda- 
mentally in having completely interlocked with its opposing tooth, 
which worked downward on its inner face as far as the edge of the 
gum. Its exact position in the jaw remains uncertain, but its crown 
must have risen well above the level of the other teeth, and its state 
of wear implies its separation from the anterior premolar by a slight 
diastema, as in the apes.” From the various comparisons which the 
authors make it appear that “among known Upper Tertiary and 
Recent Anthropoids, the permanent lower canine of Eoanthropus 
agrees more closely in shape with the milk canine both of man and of 
the apes than with the corresponding permanent tooth in either of 
these groups. It is also obvious that the resemblance is greater be- 
tween Hoanthropus and Homo than between the former and any 
known genus of apes. In other words, the permanent tooth of the 
extinct Hoanthropus is almost identical in shape with the temporary 
milk tooth of the existing Homo. Hence it forms another illustra- 
tion of the well-known law in mammalian paleontology, that the 
permanent teeth of an ancestral race agree more closely in pattern 
with the milk teeth than with the permanent teeth of its modified 
descendants.” 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Hrdlicka. 


EOANTHROPUS. 


The newly found nasal bones and canines (in various aspects and sections) and the 
lower jaw. (After Dawson and Woodward, Quart. Jour. Geol. Soe., vol. 70, pl. 15.) 


(Yorsuajooyoy doyfy) ‘sS8O1d OILY. B AQ poYxIVUL sf ‘OOBJANS OY} WOLY Joo} GL ‘ALT JL oLOYM oon[d oy L 
“GSYUSAOOSIG SVM MV YSNVAW SHL SYSHM ALI1VOO7] SHL 


B42 |PIH— E161 ‘HOdeyY UR}UOSYI}LUS 


*6 ailvad 


ANCIENT REMAINS OF MAN——HRDLIOCKA. 509 


As to the original restoration of the skull, it appears that the 
changes called for by very detailed and many-sided further study, 
will be relatively small; and “there are reasons for believing that 
the individual was a young adult, and possibly a female, for the fea- 
tures that present secondary sexual characters in modern skulls are 
quite indefinite in these fragments.” 

Notes on an interesting discussion follow the report. There seems 
to be still some doubt as to the teeth belonging all to the same skull. 
As to the age of the remains, it can not be earlier than Pleistocene; 
according to Prof. W. Boyd Dawkins, this was clearly proved by the 
presence in the Piltdown deposits “of an antler of red deer (Cervus 
elaphus), a species unknown in the Pliocene of Europe and abun- 
dant in the Pleistocene and later strata.” 

Regrettably, at the time of the writer’s visit in England, in the 
spring of 1912, the specimen was not yet available for examination 
by outsiders, and so no original opinion can be given concerning its 
status. It represents doubtless one of the most interesting finds re- 
lating to man’s antiquity, though seemingly the last word has not 
yet been said as to its date and especially as to the physical char- 
acteristics of the being it stands for. 


HOMO HEIDELBERGENSIS. 


One of the oldest thoroughly authenticated skeletal relics so far 
discovered and attributable to a primitive human being, is the price- 
less specimen known as the Mauer jaw. This precious document of 
man’s evolution is deposited in the Paleontological Institute of 
Heidelberg. For its preservation and thorough description we are 
indebted to Dr. Otto Schoetensack,' professor of Anthropology at 
Heidelberg University, who for years had been watching the finds in 
the sand pits near Mauer which eventually yielded the specimen. 
But considerable credit in this connection is due also to Herr Joseph 
Rosch, of Mauer, the owner of the sand pits in question, who saved 
the specimen from destruction, immediately called Prof. Schoeten- 
sack’s attention to its discovery, and eventually donated it unselfishly 
to science. 

The specimen, the lower jaw of an adult male, was discovered on 
the 21st of October, 1907, by two laborers. Both of these were still 
employed in the quarry at the time of the writer’s visit, in June 1912, 
and they readily related, in company with Mr. Rosch, all the circum- 
stances of the find. 

The deposits in which the specimen was discovered are located near 
the village of Mauer, which lies in the picturesque Elsenz Valley, 6 


1 Recently deceased. 


510 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


miles (10 km.) southeast from Heidelberg. They form the moder- 
ately elevated undulating northern boundaries of the shallow valley, 
at a distance of about 2 miles from the present bed of the river, and 
represent in the main the quaternary accumulations of the stream. 
They consist of loess, sand and gravels, with here and there, in the 
deeper layers, isolated flat blocks of red sandstone (pl. 9). 

The portion of these deposits owned by H. Résch, located about 500 
paces north of the Mauer village, have now been worked, in open 
manner, for upward of 30 years, in which time great quantities of 
building sand have been removed. During this work, particularly 
in the lower strata, the workingmen often unearthed fossil shells and 
fossil bones of various Quaternary animals. Many of these speci- 
mens found their way, mostly as gifts of Herr Résch, to the Heidel- 
berg University, and the diggings were repeatedly visited by 
scientific men, among whom Prof. Schoetensack. Both the owner 
and the workmen were enjoined to watch for better preserved speci- 
mens, and particularly for anything relating to the presence of man. 

On the date of the find, two of the laborers were working in un- 
disturbed material at the base of the exposure, over 80 feet in depth 
from the surface, when one of them suddenly brought out on his 
shovel part of a massive lower jaw which the implement had struck 
and cut in two. As the men knew it was worth while to carefully 
preserve all fossils, the specimen was handled with some care. The 
missing half was dug out, but the crowns of four of the teeth broken 
by the shovel were not recovered. The men were struck at once with 
the remarkable resemblance of the bone to a human lower jaw; but 
it looked to them too thick and large to be that of man. They called 
Herr Rosch and he also was bewildered; but he recognized immedi- 
ately that the specimen might be of considerable interest to Prof. 
Schoetensack and so he took charge of it. Returning to the village he 
telegraphed to the professor, who came the next day, and “once he 
got hold of the specimen, he would no more let it out of his posses- 
sion.” He took it to Heidelberg, cleaned it, repaired it, and in 1908 
published its description in an exemplary way.’ Since then the 
valuable specimen has been preserved in the Paleontological Institute 
of the Heidelberg University, where, thanks to the liberality of those 
in charge, it is available for examination to men of science.? 

Shortly following the discovery of the jaw a most careful examina- 
tion and study were made of the Mauer deposits. They were found 
to range from recent accumulations on the surface to Tertiary de- 
posits in the lowest layers. The jaw lay a little less than three feet 

1 Shoetensack, Otto. Der Unterkiefer des Homo Heidelbergensis, aus den Sanden von 
Mauer bei Heidelberg, 4°, Leipzig, 1908, pp. 1-67, 13 plates. 


2 The writer wishes to thank herewith especially Prof, Wilhelm Salomon, chief of the 
Institute, for the courtesies extended. 


ANCIENT REMAINS OF MAN—HRDLICKA. 517 


(0.87 meter) above the floor of the excavation and 79 feet (24.1 
meters) from the surface.1. The same level, as well as some of the 
higher layers, yielded fossil bones of the Hlephas antiquus, Rhi- 
noceros etruscus, Felis leo fossilis, and various other extinct species. 
The age of the human jaw has been determined by these and subse- 
quent explorations to be earlier Quaternary, though there seems to 
be some uncertainty as yet as to the exact subdivision of the period 
to which it should be attributed. 

The original specimen, when seen, impresses one at once and po- 
tently as one of the greatest anthropological treasures. It is a huge 
lower jaw, which looks simultaneously both human and ape (pl. 10). 

It presents no abnormality or any diseased condition that could 

have altered it in shape, so that it may well be regarded as a perfect 
representative of its type. The bone is dull yellowish-white to red- 
dish in color, with numerous small and large blackish spots. The 
crowns of the teeth are dirty creamy white, with blackish discolora- 
tions on the somewhat worn-off chewing surfaces of the canines and 
incisors, and a few similar spots over the molars; while all the parts 
of the teeth beneath the enamel are dull red, as if especially colored. 
It is much mineralized and feels more like so much limestone than 
bone. It weighs nearly 7 ounces (187 grams). 
’ The jaw is considerably larger and stouter than any other known 
human mandible. Its ascending rami are exceedingly broad. Its 
coronoid processes, thin and sharp in modern man, are thick, dull, 
broad, and markedly diverging. The chin slopes backward as 
in no human being now known or thus far discovered, with the 
possible exception of the recently reported Eoanthropus; and there 
are other primitive features. The total of the characteristics of the 
bone are such that, had the teeth been lost, it would surely have been 
regarded as the mandible of some large ape rather than that of any 
human being. 

The teeth of the Mauer jaw, however, are perfectly preserved, 
and though large and provided with great roots and in various other 
ways primitive, they are unquestionably human teeth. They force 
the conclusion that their possessor, while of heavy, protruding face, 
hugh muscles of mastication, wide and thick zygomatic arches, thick 
skull, probably heavy brows, and possibly not yet quite erect posture, 
had nevertheless already stepped over that line above which the being 
could be termed human. His food and probably his mode of life 
were related to those of primitive man, and he was already far re- 
moved from his primate ancestors with large canines. 

The writer will not enter into the anatomical details of the speci- 
men, which have been admirably brought out by Prof. Schoetensack. 
ER BLISTER! FM AN A ly ROM ee ETI BF eg 


+The exact spot has been marked by Prof. Schoetensack with a stone monument bear- 
ing the inscription: ‘‘ Fundstelle des menschlichen Unterkiefers, 21 Oktober, 1907.” 


512 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913, 


The main dimensions of the bone as taken by the writer and con- 
trasted with a modern male German jaw of average strength, are as 
follows: 


Measurements of the Mauer jaw and those of an ordinary lower jaw of a white 
man of German descent. 


Mauer jaw. German jaw. 


Right 
side. 


Left | Right 
side. side. 


Left 
side. 


Horizontal length (from the most forward point of the alveolar border 
in the middle, to the middle of the posterior border of the ascending em. 
PALS ue em oles wichita one rien vec be apeneccechatvodscasaeea ssc ce on are 12.5 12.1 


o 
_ 
iz} 
3 
2 
i] 


IBOHIN oie cirieacnsincen nea neces scnicn pn swe(sicae'a'aasy siceetasiagaentonser 
Pecnien: ete Same aes nciide atc ahaa Mine neem. a Sait oe ante eee 


— 
Ne NOS 


ile 
One coo acon NOOO 


OO ES ae Ns ee ae, Soe 


Vertical height i in the median line at front (the jaw reposing naturally 
Wit ch MOMZOU TAN SUTIACE) = oe cewek cca ccesive sects cnwcvecccoscchen mem 
Height at middle of second molar... -............-222-22.--eeeccceeeeee 
Thickness (at right angle to the vertical diameter of the horizontal 
ramus) at median incisors and midway from above downward ...... 
JAAS of tera [Sree] EAS he yarns AN dl aie eg eR pee TQ Be 


Nom Wl mo 00 


or or 


Maximum) (at thirdmolars) i. 09.2222. ec eceseene- so skl coe me 
Smallest breadth of the ascending ramus...................2---.--2---- 
PMNEEN OUGDM GAL ATCHS Soba: cc aud cob cps dre eae rcecklads seh bene eee ee 
PreatEenGntne Men talaneinc Lee. cebc ns climes co seeee weeccenesobaneeeoe 
Length of the three molars, at insertion... ......22 1.2.2.0... eee eee eee . | 


2 
° 
to 
oo 
N 
~ 


RO. ore 


HAR 


It is readily seen that the jaw exceeds considerably that of the 
modern man in every dimension. 

The carefulness of the workingmen in the Mauer sand dais 
has been redoubled since the find of the jaw, and the locality has also 
been subjected to considerable scientific exploration, but thus far 
without further result so far as human remains are concerned. No 
signs were discovered which would indicate that the specimen found 
in 1907 proceeded from a burial. Evidently it became mingled 
accidentally and while still fairly fresh with the ancient alluvium, 
wherein by rare good fortune it was perfectly preserved. There can 
be but little hope that other parts of the same skull or skeleton will 
ever be recovered; but it is not impossible that the large early accu- 
mulations of the Elsenz Valley may inclose and some day yield 
parts of some equally early individual which will throw further light 
on the physical organization of this most interesting ancient repre- 
sentative of humanity. 


THE SKULL OF GIBRALTAR. 


This highly valuable but comparatively little known specimen is 
preserved in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons, England, 
where, thanks to the courtesy of the curator, Prof. Arthur Keith, 
the writer was able to examine it and have it photographed. 

_The history of the specimen is, regrettably, somewhat defective. 
The first mention of it. occurs in Falconer’s Paleontological Memoirs,’ 


1 Faleoner, Hugh. Paleontological memoirs and notes, 2 vols., 8°, London, 1868; also 
Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc. London, vol. 21, 1865, p. 369. 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Hrdlicka. PLATE 10. 


THE MAvueER LOWER JAW. 


(After Schoetensack. About three-fourths natural size.) 


(‘[BULSIIO ay} Woas Jaoday uBLUOSYyIWWS 9Y} 10; poyd 04d) 
(2) ‘M3IA 3GIS “T1NXS YvVLivudi5 3H). 


Sa esteL Val cl BHI|PIH—EL6L wodey ueiuosyyws 


ANCIENT REMAINS OF MAN——HRDLICKA. 513 


in 1868, where, on page 561 of volume 2, speaking of various anthro- 
pological and other finds at Gibraltar, the author says: 

One of the human skulls yielded by the rocks many years since appears to 
us to point to a time of very high antiquity. In fact, it is the most remark- 
able and perfect example of its kind now extant. In the absence of a properly 
organized museum no record exists of the precise circumstances under which 
this interesting relic was found, and that it has been preserved at all may be 
considered a happy accident; it has cost us much labor, and with but partial 
success, to endeavor to trace its history on the spot where it turned up. 

Besides this Falconer remarks in a letter to a relative,' referring 
to the skull: “It is a case of a very low type of humanity—very low 
and savage, and of extreme antiquity—but still man * * *. 

Taking all the available data into consideration,’ it appears that 
the skull was discovered, accidentally, as early as 1848, therefore 
eight years before the Neanderthal cranium made its appearance in 
the “ Forbes Quarry, situated on the north front of the Rock of Gi- 
braltar.” According to Keith, it was “quarried out of the terrace 
under the north face of the rock,’ a terrace formed of solidified 
breccia, consisting of the débris of weathering of the limestone cliff 
and fine wind-blown sand. ‘The part of the terrace where the cra- 
nium lay was possibly in former times the floor of a cave. Part of a 
cave still exists behind the site of the discovery and was explored in 
1911 by Duckworth, but without results. It is certain that the skull 
showed, and to some extent presents to this day, a hard stony matrix 
adhering to its surface and filling its cavities. Broca, to whom we 
owe the first descriptive account of the specimen * says that it was 
taken out from a “very compact and adherent gangue” out of which 
it was disengaged with much difficulty. The photographs published 
with Broca’s account show still very noticeable remnants of the stony 
matrix (see also pl. 12). 

The skull was presented to the Gibraltar Scientific Society by its 
that time secretary, Lieut. Flint, but for many years received no sci- 
entific attention. In 1862 it came to England, with the collections 
from the Gibraltar caves, and was studied to some extent by Busk 
and Falconer. The latter, perceiving how much it differed from 
recent human skulls, proposed to refer it to a distinct variety of man, 
the Homo colpicus, after Calfé, the old name of Gibraltar. In 1868 
finally Busk presented the cranium to the Museum of the Royal Col- 
lege of Surgeons of England, where it is still preserved. 

The first descriptive account of the specimen ,was published, as 
mentioned above, by Broca, but the adhering stony matrix pre- 


1 Op. cit., p. 561, footnote. 

2Compare Keith, A. The early history of the Gibraltar cranium. (Nature, 1911, pp. 
813-814.) 

3 Ancient Types of Man, 1911, p. 121. 

*Broca, P. Cr&nes et ossements humains des cayernes de Gibraltar. (Bull. Soc. 
d’Anthropol. Paris, 2d séries, vol. 4, 1869, p. 154.) 


44863°—sM 1913 33 


. 


514 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


vented at that time any attempts at accurate measurements. Subse- 
quently it received attention from Huxley, Quatrefages, and Hamy, 
and later from Macnamara, Klaatsch, Schwalbe, Sollas, Sera, and 
Keith, as well as the writer. It is a very remarkable specimen which, 
even though the geological and paleontological evidence relating to 
its antiquity is imperfect, does not allow for one moment any doubt 
as to its representing an early form of the human being; and its 
characteristics are such that it is now universally regarded as a rep- 
resentative, possibly a very early one, of the Homo neanderthalensis. 

The cranium (pls. 11, 12, 13) is dirty yellowish to whitish in color. 
It is considerably mineralized. The stony matrix has been so far re- 
moved that all important determinations and measurements which the 
defective state of the bone itself permits, can now be made. A for- 
tunate circumstance is that the frontal and facial parts are relatively 
well preserved; the vault on the other hand is largely defective, but 
even here sufficient portions remain to permit of a number of valuable 
determinations, and a fairly correct. reconstruction. 

The aspect of the face is semihuman, apish. There is a marked 
and quite heavy supraorbital arch, notwithstanding the fact that 
the skull is probably that of a female. The orbits are very spacious, 
especially in height, and the frontal process between, especially at 
the level of the superior borders of the orbits, is very stout. The 
nasal bridge is low, though not excessively so, and the nasal aperture 
is very broad. There are no suborbital (canine) fossee—the surface 
of the maxillaries in this region is in fact slightly convex, as in the 
apes. The zygomatic arches are deficient and in consequence it is 
impossible to say anything definite about their breadth, except that 
in all probability this was considerable. The upper alveolar process 
is largely absorbed, so that we can not judge of the original prognath- 
ism, which however was’ doubtless well marked. The teeth show 
unusual strength and especially length, though their crowns are 
largely worn off. 

The vault, viewed from above, is ovoid in shape and decidedly 
low. The forehead is low and sloping. The cranial bones are thick, 
exceeding any in this line that can be found in normal modern 
European. 

The external dimensions of the skull are fairly large, but the brain 
was small. The cranial capacity is estimated by Keith as having 
been under 1,100 c.c.—that in an adult white woman of the present 
time averaging about 1,825 c.c. The palate was large and approached 
the horseshoe in shape. The fosse for the articulation of the lower 
jaw are rather small and, as in the Krapina skulls to be described 
later, they are inclined distally more upward than in man of the 
actual time. 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Hrdliiéka. PWAe toe 


THE GIBRALTAR SKULL. FRONT VIEW. 


Photographed for the Smithsonian Report from the original.) 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Hrdliéka PLATE 13 


GIBRALTAR SKULL. TOP VIEW. 


Photographed for the Smithsonian Report from the original.) 


ANCIENT REMAINS OF MAN—HRDLICKA. 515 


The principal measurements which the writer secured on the 
specimen, and which differ shghtly from those previously reported, 
especially as to the breadth of the skull, are as follows: 


Cm, 
HensineMneasxtmirm, 7Celabello-occipital))-— oP eee ee 19.3 
SRO Micah ae ATVC ATS Eh 2k ee VTS Se eS eT OM Se 14.8 

ORO RATE U1 G0; SS oie ESA RO pe oS Rae ee sae mae iets Aa oe A SR RBE EB 76 to 77 

Height between a point corresponding about to the bregma and a point 

on) the basilar process just back of the vomer_.—_-_-__ = 2s vo aac 10.8 
Premeter frontal minimum __ <2 27-2. __ Baa 1) ef a a Oe 9.9 
Wpper alveolar point to nasion, approximately_____-_____ = 7.9 
INOSeunelshtaGnrenn) of the: tworsides)) 2-2. Ve oe eee ees 5.8 
PES Tee Nl pede nT ed ATU Ty es ee ae PEN bio PAST 4) 
Palatevensth (hurer’s method); taboute.2222 2222 ee) es et 
IB Rea Gti alo oUt sa ee sei oo eee ss fel alee pats 6,8 
: Mm. 
Thickness of right parietal, 1 cm. above and along the squamous suture__ 6.9 

Right. Left. 

Om. Cm. 

CO TETY TESS sae en 1 Ep aa ree aa a oe Rs OSs Biase Sm as ne CY 4 3.8 

ved: ae AR ai 3 Ty eg ce ea OE LR eR ALL Mee ECE 4 4.0 

Maximum length of the brain___-_______ ctl RAE ea REN See UNOS NODES EES Li 16. 4 


The majority of these measurements show well the low type of the 
skull. 

There are numerous other details and dimensions about the speci- 
men which are of interest to.the anthropologist, but which can not 
well be dealt with in this paper. Tt will suffice to say that both the 
visual and the instrumental examination of the specimen lead to the 
conclusion that the Gibraltar skull represents a highly valuable re- 
mains of an early human being and that its principal characteris- 
tics justify the classification of this ancient form with the Homo 
neanderthalensis.1 


THE NEANDERTHAL SKULL AND BONES. 


The most famous of the skeletal remains representing early man 
are unquestionably the imperfect but highly characteristic speci- 
mens known as the Neanderthal skull and bones. This important 
find more than any other has aroused scientific men to intense reali- 
zation of the earlier phases of human evolution. The skull and to 
some extent also the other parts of the skeleton stand morphologically 
far below those of any existing type of man, being correspondingly 
nearer to the ancient primates; and their name has been deservedly 
taken to designate with the entire early phase of mankind of which 
the skeleton is, as now well known, a prototype. 


1 ADDITIONAL REFERENCES. 


Sera, G. L. Nuove osservazioni ed induzioni sul cranio de Gibraltar. Arch. p. 
lAntropol. and Etnol., vol. 39, Firenze, 1910, pp. 1-66, pls. 3-5. 

Sottas, W. G. On the cranial and facial features of the Neanderthal race. 
(Philosophical Transactions, Roy. Soc: London, 1907, vol. 199B, p. 281-339.) 


516 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


The skull, with other parts of the skeleton, were found in August, 
1856." They were dug out accidentally by two laborers from a small 
rave, located at the entrance of the Neanderthal gorge, in West- 
phalia, western Germany. The bones were given but little attention 
by the workmen, but fortunately news of the find reached an Elber- 
feld physician, Dr. Fublrett, and he was still able to save the skull- 
cap, the femora, humeri, ulnz, right radius, portion of the left pelvic 
bone, portion of the right scapula, piece of the right clavicle, and 
five pieces of ribs (see pls. 14-18). 

Soon after their discovery the skeletal remains of the Neanderthal 
man received the attention of Prof. D. Schaatfhausen, of Bonn, who 
on the 4th of February, 1857, made a preliminary report upon them 
at the meeting of the Lower Rhine Medical and Natural History 
Society, of Bonn.2 At the general meeting of the Natural History 
Society of Prussian Rhineland and Westphalia, at Bonn, on the 2d 
of June, 1857, Dr. Fuhlrott himself gave a full account of the 
locality of the find and of the circumstances under which the dis- 
covery was made. 

The principal details of Dr. F whiroet? s* report were as follows: 


A small cave or grotto, high enough to admit a man and about 15 feet deep 
from the entrance, which is 7 or 8 feet wide, exists in the southern wall of the 
gorge of the Neanderthal, as it is termed, at a distance of about 100 feet from 
the Diissel* and about 60 feet above the bottom of the valley (fig. 3). In its 
earlier and uninjured condition this cavern opened upon a narrow plateau lying 
in front of it and from which the rocky wall descended almost perpendicularly 
to the river. It could be reached, though with difficulty, from above. The 
uneven floor was covered to a thickness of 4 or 5 feet with a deposit of mud, 
sparingly intermixed with rounded fragments of chert. In the removing of 
this deposit the bones were discovered. The skull was first noticed, placed 
nearest to the entrance of the cavern; and further in were the other bones lying 
in the same horizontal plane. Of this I was assured in the most positive terms 
by two laborers who were employed to clear out the grotto, and who were ques- 
tioned by me on the spot. At first no idea was entertained of the bones being 
human; and it was not till several weeks after their discovery that they were 
recognized as such by me and placed in security. But, as the importance of 
the discovery was not at the time perceived, the laborers were very careless in 
the collecting and secured chiefly only the larger bones; and to this circum- 
stance it may be attributed that fragments merely of the probably perfect 
skeleton came into my possession. 


Fuhlrott held that the Neanderthal bones might be regarded as 
“ fossil,” by which he possibly meant not merely mineralized, but 


1In many publications the date is erroneously given as 1857. 

2 Verhandl. d. naturhist. Vereins der preuss. Rheinliinde und Westphalens, vol. 14. 
Bonn, 1857. Also “Zur Kenntniss der iiltesten Rassenschiidel,”’ Miiller’s Archiy, 1858, 
p. 453 et seq. 

3Ib. Correspondenzblatt No. 2. The above follows G. Busks’s Translation of Schaaff- 
hausen’s ‘‘On the crania of the most ancient races of man,’’ Nat. Hist. Review, April, 
1861. 

4 Near Hochdal, between Hlberfeld and Diisseldorf. 


(]BuTs10 9y} MoOIy yada] UBIUOSTITUI, OY) IOy paydvasoloyq) 


“M3IA 3GIS “INNS IHLYSGNVAN 3HL 


at pestEVale) “BMII1IPAH—'E16| ‘Hoday uejuosyziws 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Hrdlicka. PLATE 15 


THE NEANDERTHAL SKULL. TOP VIEW. 


(Photographed for the Smithsonian Report from the original.) 


ANCIENT REMAINS OF MAN——HRDLICKA, 517 


also belonging to a form of humanity no more existing. A little later 
Prof. Schaaffhausen arrived at the following conclusions: ! 


Virst. The extraordipary form of the skull was due to a natural conforma- 
tion, hitherto not known to exist even in the most barbarous races. Second. 
These remarkable human remains belonged to a period antecedent to the time 
of the Celts and Germans, and were in all probability derived from one of the 
wild races of northwestern Europe, spoken of by Latin writers, and which 
were encountered as autochthones by the German immigrants. -And third. 
It was beyond doubt that these human relics were traceable to a period at 
which the latest animals of the Diluvium still existed; though no proof of 
this assumption, nor consequently of their so-termed fossil condition, was 
afforded by the circumstances under which the bones were discovered. 


In 1860 the Neanderthal cave was visited, in company with Dr. 
Fuhlrott, by Lyell, who made a sketch of the locality (fig. 3), and 


Fig. 3.—SECTION OF THE NEANDERTHAL CAVE, NEAR DiUssELporF. (After Lyell.) 


a. Cavern 60 feet above the Diissel, and 100 feet below the surface of the country at c. 

b. Loam covering the floor of the cave, near the bottom of which the human skeleton was 
found. 

b,c. Rent connecting the cave with the upper surface of the country. 

d. Superficial sandy loam. 

e. Devonian limestone. 

jf. Terrace, or ledge of rock. 


we are given the following additional information:? Since the dis- 
covery of the bones— 


the ledge of rock, f, on which the cave opened, and which was originally 20 
feet wide, had been almost entirely quarried away, and, at the rate at which 
the work of dilapidation was proceeding, its complete destruction seemed near 
at hand. 

In the limestone are many fissures, one of which, still partially filled with 
mud and stones, is represented in the section at @ ¢ as continuous from the 
cave to the upper surface of the country. * * #* 

There was no crust of stalagmite overlying the mud in which the human 
skeleton was found, and no bones of other animals in the mud with the skele- 
ton; but just before our visit in 1860 the tusk of a bear had been met with in 
some mud in a lateral embranchment of the cave, in a situation precisely simi- 


1. ¢. 


Lyell, Sir Charles. 'The geological evidences of the antiquity of man, 4th ed., London, 
1873, p. 80 et seq. 


518 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


lar to b, figure 8, and on a level corresponding with that of the human skeleton. 
This tusk, shown us by the proprietor of the cave, was 23 inches long and 
quite perfect; but whether it was referable to a recent or extinct species of 
bear, I could not determine. 

Following the early notices concerning the Neanderthal cranium, 
and before other specimens of similar nature, such as the Spy, 
Gibraltar and others became known, an extensive controversy 
arose as to the real significance of the find. Virchow,! and after him 
others, were at first inclined to look upon the skull as pathological; 
to Barnard Davis? its sutures appeared to show premature synosto- 
sis; while Blake * and his followers regarded the specimen as prob- 
ably proceeding from an idiot. But there were also those, such as 
Schaaffhausen, Broca, and others, who from the beginning saw in the 
cranium (the other bones received at first but little attention) not 
any pathological or accidental monstrosity, but a peculiar, thereto 
unknown type of ancient humanity. Then gradually new examples 
of this same early type appeared in different parts of Europe, under 
circumstances which steadily strengthened the claim of the whole 
class to geological antiquity; and when eventually a thorough com- 
parative study of the Neanderthal remains was carried out by mod- 
ern methods and in view of new knowledge, the cranium and bones 
were definitely recognized as representing, in a normal and most char- 
acteristic way, a most interesting earlier phase or variety of mankind, 
our mid-quarternary predecessor or close relative Homo neander- 
thalensis. The credit for deserving work in this field is due especially 
to Prof. G. Schwalbe, of Strassburg, whose numerous publications 
on the early forms of human remains in Europe are well known to 
every anthropologist.‘ 

Notes on the specimens.—The remains of the Neanderthal skeleton 
are preserved in the Provincial Museum at Bonn, where, due to the 
courtesy of the director, Prof. Hans Lehner, the writer was enabled 
to examine the originals and later have them photographed. 

The skull (pls. 14-16) is gray in color, with large mud-brownish 
patches on the outside, and whitish gray to whitish brown on the 
inside. It is decidedly heavy and mineralized. It is plainly non- 
pathological. The sagittal suture has evidently closed earlier than 
it ordinarily does in the modern man, but this must have taken place 
after the brain ceased to influence the cranial vault, for it resulted 
in no deformation. The coronal suture is obliterated up to the 


1Virchow, R. Untersuchung des Neanderthal-Schidels. Zeit. f. Ethnol., vol. 4, 1872, 
Verhandl. Berl. Ges. f. Anthr., ete., pp. 157-165. 

2 Davis, J. Barnard. The Neanderthal skull, etc., London, 1864. 

3 Blake, C. Carter. On the alleged peculiar characters and assumed antiquity of the 
human cranium from the Neanderthal. (Journ. Anthrop. Soe., London, vol. 2, 1864, pp. 
189-157 ; also Mem. Anthrop. Soc., London, vol. 2, 1866, p. 74.) 

4Those especially worthy of mention in this connection are: Uber die Schiidelformen 
der iiltesten Menschenrassen, mit besonderer Beriicksichtigung des Schiidels von Egisheim. 
Mitteilungen der philomathischen Gesellschaft in Elsas-Lothringen. 5, Jahrg., voi. 3, 1897. 
Derselbe : Der Neandertalschidel. Bonner Jahrbiicher, Heft 106; 72 Stn. 1 Tafel, 1901. 


([BULSIIO 9) Woy JIOday URIUOSY TUS OY JOJ poydvasojoyd) 


“MAIA MOVG “TINS IVHLYSGNVAN SHL 


9) S1LV1d “PYQI|PIH—"ELEL ‘Hodey urjuosyptus 


ANCIENT REMAINS OF MAN——-HRDLIGKA. 519 


temporal ridges, while the lambdoid is still patent. Similar condi- 
tions to these are not seldom met with in the skulls of persons beyond 
the fiftieth year of life, and if not attended by scaphocephaly or 
other consequent deformation, can not be regarded as abnormal. The 
serration of the lambdoid suture is decidedly simpler than in the 
modern human skull. 

The facial and basal parts are lacking. The vault shows very good 
dimensions in length and breadth, but is strikingly low, and the 
bones are considerably thicker than in the white man of to-day, so 
that the brain cavity was only moderate. 

Besides its lowness the vault is characterized by a very decided 
protrusion of the whole supra-orbital region. The supra-orbital fore- 
structure or arch formed through this protrusion is heavier than in 
any other known example of the Homo neanderthalensis. The line 
from glabella to the naso-frontal articulation is relatively extensive 
and passes considerably backward besides downward, indicating 
a very marked depression at the root of the nose, not unlike that 
which is present in the adult gorilla. Due also to the forward ex- 
tension of the supra-orbital arch, the upper parts of the planes of 
the orbits face very perceptibly downward, while in present man 
they face somewhat upward or approach the vertical. The remark- 
able extent of the protrusion of the supra-orbital region may be 
judged by the fact that the horizontal distance from the most promi- 
nent point of the glabella to the nearest point on the ventral surface 
of the lower frontal region measures 3 cm. ‘The frontal process 
descends deep between the orbits and is exceedingly stout. 

The forehead is very low and also slopes markedly backward, 
nevertheless it presents a moderately well-defined convexity. The 
sagittal region is oval from side to side, much like that in man of 
to-day; the occiput, however, is marked by a relatively high situa- 
tion of the crest and other peculiarities. The outline of the vault, 
as looked at from above, is a long ovoid. The thickness of the 
frontal bone at the eminences is 8.5 mm.; of the left parietal, along 
and 1 em. above the squamous suture, 6 to 8 mm.; these measurements 
are about one-third greater than those of the skull of an average 
modern European. 

The principal external dimensions of the cranium, taken carefully 
with two separate instruments, were found to differ slightly from 
some of those recorded, but agree closely with those of Schwalbe. 
They are: 


Cr. 
ah ewereakesth length seme EO 
ALEVE. eA SAU REST OU ELEN Fl eee 2 err 14.7 
Cephalienndexces se hs aie we ecnl 
Dinmetereironpalocminimapmameie: a A ys es OT 
Diametererrontal maximise elt! 2 Ai doe PAS: 
INT SIOn-DECE Mia aime ter see ee ke 2 PE A Oe ra sey 


iBregma-lambdar diameter seme ae ea 10.3 


520 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


The internal capacity of the skull has been estimated by Schaaff- 
hausen at 1,033 c.c., by Huxley at 1,230 cc, and by Schwalbe at 
1,234 c. ¢. 

The brain which filled the skull was lower and narrower and 
slightly more pointed than the human brain of to-day, approaching 
in these features more the anthropoid form. The right frontal 
lobe was slightly larger and longer than the left, and the whole right 
hemisphere was slightly longer than that of the opposite side. In 
the present man it is generally the left hemisphere which is the 
longer, but this exception in the Neanderthal man is not necessarily 
of any special significance. 

The long and other bones of the skeleton (pls. 17-18), so far as pre- 
served, show many features of anthropological inferiority, demon- 
strating plainly that not merely the skull, but the whole body of 
the Neanderthal man occupied a lower evolutionary stage than that 
of any normal human being of the historic times. However, many 
of the details on these points are technical and must be reserved for 
another publication. The bones in general indicate a powerful 
musculature. They belong doubtless to a male individual. The 
stature of the man was about like the average of the present man 
in central Europe, or but slightly lower (the femora indicate, accord- 
ing to Manouvrier’s scale, approximately 165 cm.)* The thigh bones, 
besides presenting a powerful neck with a relatively large head, show 
also a very mesially located minor condyle, certain peculiarities of 
the shaft, a small but distinct suprapatellar fossa which does not 
exist any more in man of this day, and a slight convexity, espe- 
cially on the right, of the popliteal surface, a region which in the 
present man is as a rule more or less concave. The left humerus 
shows signs of an injury in consequence of which it doubtless re- 
mained much weaker than the right bone. The proximal end of the 
left ulna has also been damaged in life. The radius presents a 
marked functional (nonpathological) curvature. 

A careful examination and comparison of the Neanderthal skull 
and bones can leave only one impression on the anatomist or anthro- 
pologist of to-day, which is that while individually and jointly the 
various parts represent a human being already far advanced above 
any anthropoid, they are still in many respects decidedly more 
primitive in form—that is, on a lower scale of evolution—than the 
skull and bones of any man of to-day. 

The remains are unquestionably the most precious representatives 
of the important phase of early humanity which we now include 
under the name of Homo neanderthalensis. 


1Taking all the long bones of the skeleton, so far as preserved, into consideration, the 
calculated stature is 163.2 em. See Boule, M., Annales de Paléontologie, vol. 7, No. 2, 
1912, p. 117; also Rahon, Thése, Paris, 1892; and Mem. Soc. d’Anthropol, Paris, vol. 4, 
1898, p. 403. 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Hrdlicka. 


THE NEAN 


PLATE 17. 


THE NEANDERTHAL FEMORA, WITH PORTION OF A PULA AND PELVIC BONE 


graphed for the Smithsonian Report f the originals 


(S[BUISII0 94} Woy Jsoday URrUOSYyIUIS 94} OJ poydersc oud) 


*“NOLSTSNS IWHILYSONVSN SHL SO XVYHOH] GNV SAWI7 Yaddf] 3HL WOYS SANOG 


‘SL aLwid 


“PAQNPIH—"E 161 ‘Hoda {}!1WS 


ANCIENT REMAINS OF MAN——HRDLICKA. 521 


THE SPY SKELETONS. 


In June of 1886 Messrs. Marcel de Puydt, member of the Archeo- 
logical Institute of Liege, and Maximin Lohest, at that time assistant 
of geology of the University of Liege, discovered in the terrace front- 
ing a certain cave at Spy, in the Province of Namur, Belgium, the 
remains of two human skeletons associated with the débris of extinct 
Quaternary animals. The discovery was immediately brought to 
the attention of Prof. J. Fraipont, of the Liege University, and on 
the 16th of August, 1886, he announced the important find to the 
Congrés archéologique of Namur. A little later in the same year 
Messrs. Fraipont and Lohest published an account of the discovery, 
with a description of the human remains, in the Bulletins of the 
Royal Academy of Belgium.! 

According to the last-mentioned account there existed in the 
eighties in the community of Spy, above the stream Orneau and in 


R, Orneauw 


Fig. 4.—THE Spy CAVE AND TERRACE. (After Fraipont and Lohest.) 
X = position of the skeletal remains of the Spy man. 


the side of a wooded mountain, a cave, in which de Puydt and Lohest 
conducted archeological explorations since August, 1885 (fig. 4). A 
large terrace situated in front of the cave had not been methodically 
examined until 1886, and it was during excavations in this terrace 
that the two investigators encountered, in June of 1886, the human 
remains known since as the Spy skeletons. 

The human bones lay in the lowest parts of the deposits, one 6. 
the other 8 meters in front of the entrance to the cave. They repre- 
sented two individuals. One of these lay on its side, the hand touch; 
ing the lower jaw; in the case of the other the original position could 
not be determined. 

The terrace containing the Spy skeletons was situated 14.5 meters 
(47.5 feet) above the shallow bed of the stream running at the foot 
of the mountain, and the bones lay at the depth of 13 feet from 


1 Fraipont, J., and M. Lohest. Ia race humaine de Neanderthal ou de Canstadt en 
Belgique. Bulletins de l’Académie Royale de Belgique, 8d series, vol. 12, 1886, pp. 
741-7H. 


522 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


the surface. The accumulations which formed the terrace included 
calcareous débris, various archeological traces of man’s presence, and 
numereous remains of fossil animals. They could be separated into 
several strata, none of which showed any perceptible disturbance. 

The layer in which the human skeletons were inclosed yielded also 
bones of the following fossil Quaternary mammals: 

Rhinoceros tichorhinus (abundant). 
Equus caballus (very abundant). 
Cervus elaphus (rare). 

Cervus tarandus (very rare). 

Bos primigenius (fairly abundant). 
Elephas primigenius (common). 
Ursus speleus (rare). 

Meles Taxus (rare). 

Hyena spelea (abundant). 

This layer further contained a sliver of an animal bone which 
showed a crude adaptation for use, and worked stones of inferior 
workmanship, referable to the Mousterian period. The layer imme- 
diately above, undoubtedly of lesser age, gave besides the bones of 
similar fossil animals also those of a few living species, several thou- 
sands worked fiints, some of which still of the Mousterian type, 
many worked bones including arrow points, and also fragments of 
pottery. : 

Considering the animal and archeological remains associated with 
the human skeletons, together with the absence of disturbance in the 
superimposed more recent layers, Lohest believed himself justified to 
refer the Spy remains to the Mousterian period; and the deductions 
of Fraipont, based on the study of the skeletal remains themselves, 
were that they belonged to the Neanderthal man. Since then the Spy 
remains have received careful consideration by every student of early 
man and the above classification was found to need no radical 
revision. 

What remains of the Spy skeletons is preserved + in the collections 
of the University of Liege, where, thanks to the courtesies of Messrs. 
M. Lohest, Charles Fraipont and J. Sérvais, the writer was enabled 
to examine the originals. 

The skeletons are currently known as No. 1 and No. 2.. The remains 
of No. 1 comprise the vault of the skull; two portions of the upper 
jaw, with five molars and four other teeth; a nearly complete lower 
jaw, with all (16) teeth; the left clavicle; the right humerus, which 
has lost its upper epiphysis, and the shaft of the left humerus; the 
left radius, without lower epiphysis; the heads of the two ulne; a 
nearly complete right femur; the complete left tibia; and the right 
os calcis. The parts that have been identified as belonging to the 
second subject are the vault of the skull, two portions of the upper 


1 Was, up to the invasion in 1914. 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Hrdlicka. 


a 


PLATE 19. 


SIDE VIEW. 


No. 1. 


OKULL 


SPY 


mit 


After Fraipe 


ANCIENT REMAINS OF MAN—HRDLICKA. 523 


maxilla with teeth, two fragments of the lower jaw with teeth, some 
loose teeth belonging to the lower jaw, fragments of the scapule and 
left clavicle, imperfect humeri, the shaft of the right radius, portions 
of the ulne, the left femur without its lower extremity, the left os 
calcis, and the left astragalus. The separation as here given needs, 
however, a careful revision. Besides the above, there are a number of 
vertebre and small bones of hands and feet about which it is im- 
possible to say to which skeleton they belong. 

All the skeletal pieces show an advanced state of mineralization. 
In color they range from brownish to dark grayish, skull No. 1 repre- 
senting the former and No. 2 the latter shading; the teeth, however, 
are quite white, with yellowish roots, much as in crania from rela- 
tively modern burials. 

The bones of skeleton No. 1 are in general weaker than those of 
No. 2, but whether this is due to sexual difference of the two indi- 
viduals, or is merely accidental, is difficult to determine. No. 2 
was of a decidedly powerful musculature. The stature of the Spy 
man, so far as it can be determined from these remaining bones, was 
slightly less than that of the Neanderthal man and somewhat below 
the medium of white man of central Europe of the present day. 

The bones of the vault in the two skulls are thicker than in the 
average man of the present day, though slightly less so than in the. 
Neanderthal cranium. The sutures in both are patent with the ex- 
ception of the coronal in No. 1, which shows commencement of oblit- 
eration; their serration is very simple. 

The two skulls are plainly normal specimens, free from disease or 
deformation, and belonged to adults, approaching in No. 1 middle 
age, while No. 2 was younger. Somatologically they are remarkable 
for their important resemblances as well as differences. They belong 
to one type, but represent individual variations of this type that 
stand far apart. 

No. 1 (pls. 19-20) is almost a replica of the Neanderthal cranium. 
There is a similarly prominent, though not quite as heavy, supra- 
orbital arch; the forehead is even a trace lower and a trace more 
sloping than in the Neanderthal skull, and the general shape of the 
vault is much the same. The vault is also very low, but the sagittal 
region shows a slightly more perceptible elevation than that in the 
Neanderthal specimen (fig. 5). 

Skull No. 2 on the other hand, while possessing similar prominent 
supra-orbital arch as No. 1, has a considerably higher and more con- 
vex forehead, the whole vault is higher as well as more spacious, 
and the form approaches in many respects that in modern man 
(pl. 21). The brain cavity in No. 1 is anteriorly low and relatively 
narrower, as well as somewhat more pointed, than in recent human 
crania; in No. 2 these features are also more like those in the present 
man. 


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ANCIENT REMAINS OF MAN—HRDLICKA. 525 


On the whole it may be said that No. 2, while in some respects still 
very primitive, represents morphologically a decided step from the 
Neanderthaloid to the present-day type of the human cranium. 


Fic. 6.—SUPERPOSITION OF NORMA VERTICALIS OF THE SPY No. 1 AND No. 2, AND THE NEANDERTHAL 
CRANIA. 


———— Neanderthal. __.............. Spy No. 1. Spy No. 2. 


The lower jaw of No. 1 (pls. 19, 22), while yet of a primitive form, 
possesses nevertheless already a trace of the chin prominence, and in 
size and anatomical characteristics is closer to the present-day form 


526 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


than any of the other known lower jaws dating from the Mousterian 
period; and the same is true of the teeth which, though considerably 
worn, were evidently much like human teeth of to-day. 

The outline of the two skulls when viewed from above is a long 
ovoid in No. 1, a shorter ovoid in No. 2 (fig. 6). The principal di- 
mensions of the two specimens as secured by the writer are as 
follows: 

No. 1. No. 2. 


Cm, Cm. 
Length, maximum, from clabellaz <=. 2 re ee eee 2057 20.02) 
Length fromsophryons 202 2 hiss ws See Ae ee 2) 18.8 18.6 
ESO CLG TY 1a DU a sa Ee NY ee 14.7 15.4 
Cephalic index 2 ews a 2 OA a ee ee er ep tt 
Diameter atrontal smi in wee eS ee ge eee ae LORS ee SD 
Nasion bregma didmetert 22 cu oes We Ee cae ee Re mere 10.6 (7?) 
Diameter presmia=v alma Cay ee a Es ee ee ee ine See fl SS LOSS 

Mm Mm 
Thickness of the left parietal along and 1 cm. above the squa- 

TT OUS EST GUase Re 2 ee ee 6to8 5to8 

Thicknessiofihe trontaliat the eminenees:— 252 = sh eee ) 8 

Cm Cm 
Heiht Of ower Jaw ac -SyMpRISIS eee ee ee SOO ae 
Thickness at symphisis (excluding genial tubercle)____________ GL 3 ares =e ee 
THICKNESS Hace SC COME e110 Vet ee See feed A. 
Maximum thickness (opposite third molar) —___----__--________ ile ti AG 


A careful consideration of the evidence presented by the two 
crania leads the writer to a slightly modified conclusion from the one 
generally accepted. The specimens are justly classified with the 
Homo neanderthalensis; but the characteristics of the lower jaw, the 
rising sagittal region in No. 1, and the whole shape of No. 2, barring 
the supraorbital arch, indicate a morphological advancement in the 
direction of the present type of man such as is not met with in other 
examples of Homo neanderthalensis. The crania, and particularly 
No. 2, may be justly regarded, it seems, as approaching transitional 
forms from the more typical older Neanderthal type toward that 
which we now know from the Aurignacean and perhaps lower Solu- 
trean epochs, such as the Homo aurignacensis and the man of 
Piedmost. 

Remarks on other skeletal parts from the Spy terrace will be 
limited to those of skeleton No. 2, the parts representing skeleton 
No. 1 being fewer in number and for the most part very defective. 
The bones of No. 2 are massive and show many primitive features, in 
which they approach closely to the skeleton from the Neanderthal 
cave. The femur is equally characterized by very stout neck and 
large head, the popliteal space is still slightly convex from side to 


1 Approximately. 2 Fragment. 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Hrdliéka. PLATE 22, 


THE LOWER JAW OF Spy SKULL No. 1. 
(After Fraipont and Lohest.) 


ANCIENT REMAINS OF MAN—HRDLICKA. 527 


side. There is no isolated suprapatellar fossa as in the Neanderthal 
femur, but the ordinary lower suprapatellar depression is very pro- 
nounced. The curvatures of the femur, the characteristics of its 
condyles, and the marked backward inclination of the internal 
condyle of the tibia, differ all more or less from similar features in 
modern man and indicate habits of posture that have since been 
abandoned. The right femur (left broken) measures in bicondylar 
length 42.4 cm., In maximum length, 42.6; while the relatively short 
left tibia measures, less the spine, 33.3 cm. These dimensions cor- 
respond according to Manouvrier’s tables to the stature of 161.1 cm. 
for the femur and 157 cm. for the tibia, or about 159 cm. (a litle 
over 5 feet 3 inches) for the two bones together. The right femur 
of the Neanderthal skeleton, measured in the same manner, gave the 
writer 43.7, the left 43.9 cm., which shows that the Spy man was in all 
probability somewhat shorter. Prof. Boule, in his Annales de Pale- 
ontologie, (vol. 7, 1912, p. 117), estimates the stature of the Spy 
man as identical (or 1 millimeter higher) with that of the Neander- 
thal man, but this is evidently based on erroneous data concerning 
the length of the bones. However, even the most precise estimates 
in this line can only be gross though useful approximations, for we 
know but little of the length of the trunk in these skeletons, and the 
posture of the body in the early representatives of humanity was 
probably less erect than it is in man to-day. 

The remaining bones of the Spy skeletons show various anatomical 
peculiarities and secondary primitive features, but these call for a 
technical description and comparisons. A rather unexpected condi- 
tion, found since in other skeletons of Homo neanderthalensis, is the — 
relative shortness of the forearms, as well as the legs. The radius 
shows a marked nonpathological curvature; and there are a number 
cf interesting characteristics on the astragalus, which has recently 
been studied with much detail by the son of Julien Fraipont.t 

The region that has given us the Spy skeletons has yielded no addi- 
tional remains of similar nature, but the terrain can scarcely be re- 
garded as exhausted by exploration. 


1 The following works may be consulted in this connection: 

Julien Fraipont et M. Lohest, Recherches sur les ossements humains découverts dans 
les dépoéts quaternaires d'une grotte 4 Spy et détermination de leur Age géologique. 
Archives de biologie, tome 6, Gand. 1887; Fraipont, J.—Le tibia dans la race de 
Neanderthal. Revue d’anthropologie, Paris, 3d series, vol. 3, 1888, p. 145 et seq. 
Klaatsch, H.—Erg. d. Anat. u. Entwickelungsgesch, Bd. 9, 1899—Derselbe, Die wichtigsten 
Variationen am Skelett der freien unteren Extremitiit des Menschen und ihre Bedeutung 
fiir das Abstammungsproblem. ibid., Bd. 10, 1900; Fraipont, Charles—L’astragale de 
’'Homme Moustérien de Spy; ses affinités. Bulletin de la Société d’Anthropologie de 
Bruxelles, vol. 31, 1912, pp. 1-30, 3 pls.; do.—Sur l’Importance des caractéres de 
Vastragale chez Homme fossile, Thése, Univers. de Liége, 8°, Bruxelles, 19138, pp. 
1-66, 6 pls. 


528 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


THE DILUVIAL MAN OF KRAPINA. 


One of the most important finds relating to the Homo neandertha- 
lensis is unquestionably that of the Krapina cave, in northern Croa- 
tia. It comprises a whole series of human bones of well-determined 
age, and the remains were not recovered accidentally or by ignorant 
laborers, but through prolonged, painstaking exploration. The bones 
themselves are for the most part fragmentary, which is much to be 
regretted, but they represent numerous individuals, and they show 
on one hand such similarities and on the other such variation of 


Fig 7.—A SCHEMATIC VIEW, IN TRANSVERSE SECTION, OF THE KRAPINA HOLLOW. (After Gorjanovié 
Kramberger.) 


M.S. = Mediterranean sandstone: I, the lower deposits, mostly pebbles (a) and 
aluvium (b), with fireplaces (x) and some large pieces of sandstone (y); II, the 
upper strata, composed of disintegrated rock and (c!, cz) cultural remains. 


structure, that they are of the greatest value to the student of ancient 
humanity. 

The Krapina cave or more properly rock shelter, is an ancient, not 
very deep hollow, worn out in sandstone rock by the small stream 
Krapinica, and subsequently filled with water-worn stones and al- 
luvia brought in during overflows of the stream, together with detri- 
tus resulting from the decomposing rock (fig. 7). Since the forma- 
tion of the hollow, the Krapinica has cut its channel so that it now 


(‘raS10q uIRIy-ptAouBlroy Jay y ) 


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160) 4-LV el "BYQIPAH— E16] ‘odey ueluosyyiWwic 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Hrdlicka. PLATE 24 


KRAPINA SKULL *'C.”? FRONT VIEW. 


(After Gorjanoyvi¢é-Kramberger. ) 


ANCIENT REMAINS OF MAN—HRDLICKA. 529 


flows 82 feet (25 meters) below the cave. Before and while the 
shelter was being filled up it was utilized by the early man of the 
region, at first but occasionally, later for some time perhaps con- 
tinuously, and the accumulations in the cave were augmented by the 
remains of fireplaces, by refuse including many primitive stone im- 
plements and rejects as well as animal bones, and also by numerous 
human bones in more or less fragmentary condition. 

The locality became known in 1895, after two Croatian teachers 
discovered in the superficial deposits of the cave some teeth of rhi- 
noceros and fragments of other fossil bones. These finds were 
brought to the attention of some of the scientific men at Zagreb 
(Agram), but no thorough examination of the site was undertaken 
until 1899. In that year the place was visited by Dr. K. Gorjanovic- 
Kramberger, professor of geology and paleontology in the Univer- 
sity of Zagreb and the director of the geological division of the 
Narodni Muze] of Zagreb, Croatia; and on excavation it was soon 
found that the Krapina hollow was in all probability one of the 
stations of early man and as such deserved a thorough exploration. 
Such exploration was begun without delay and was carried on, with 
some interruptions, until 1905, when the contents of the shelter 
became exhausted. 

The careful explorations just referred to yielded quantities of 
precious paleontological and paleoanthropological material, which 
now fill several cases of the National Croatian Museum; and much 
of this material has since been thoroughly described by Prof. Gor- 
janovi¢-Kramberger and reported in numerous publications.? 

The collections consist of several thousands of various fossil animal 
bones, mostly fragmentary, but some well preserved; of hundreds 
of stone flakes the rejects of stone manufacture, and of stone imple- 
ments; and of parts ef human bones proceeding from at least 14 
skeletons. 

The animal bones represent either totally extinct forms or spe- 
cies now extinct in Croatia. The most common are those of RAinoc- 
eros Merckti, Ursus spelaeus, and Bos primigenius. By these re- 
mains the age of the deposits has been determined as earlier Diluvial 
(i. e. enterglacial) , corresponding in all probability to the latter part 
of the Mousterian culture epoch in western Europe. The stone im- 
plements belong to the Mousterian and earlier types. 

Due to the courtesy of Prof. Gorjanovi¢é-Kramberger and Dr. F. 
Sulje, of the Geological Division at the Narodni Muzej in Zagreb, 
the writer was privileged, in June, 1912, to examine the Krapina 
originals. This was not done with any need or hope of adding any- 

1 Particularly in the large monograph, by K. Gorjanovic- FT auie ae, “Der Diluviale 


Mensch von Krapina in Kroatien,” 4°, Wiesbaden, 1906, pp. 1-277, 52 figs., 14 pls. This 
memoir includes all literature on the subject up to 1906. 


44863°—smM 1913 


530 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


thing to Prof. Gorjanovié-Kramberger’s thorough description of the 
specimens, but rather because the view and handling of the original 
objects in a case of this importance is a rare treat which helps to fix 
in the mind, more than any description could, their extraordinary 
characteristics. 

The human bones are, for the most part, in fragments. Notwith- 
standing their defective condition, however, the collection impresses 
the student most forcibly by its scientific importance. As in the case 
of the Mauer jaw and a number of other specimens derived from 
early man in Europe, the material bears the unmistakable stamp 
of genuineness and preciousness to anthropology, impressions which 
are wanting in the case of so many of the finds that are merely urged 
as ancient. 

The bones represent, as already mentioned, the remains of at least 
14 individuals of both sexes, ranging from childhood to ripe adult 
age. The fragmentation of the skulls (pls. 23-25) lower jaws and 
some of the long bones is excessive, and of such a nature as to sug- 
gest that it was caused otherwise than by accidental breaking or 
crushing. A number of the fragments show also the effects of burn- 
ing, and one specimen, a portion of the supraorbital part of a frontal, 
presents some cuts. These different conditions, together with the 
absence of many parts of the skulls and bones, with total lack of 
association of the fragments and the commingling of the human with 
the animal bones, led Gorjanovié-Kramberger to the opinion that the 
remains represent the leavings of occasional cannibalistic feasts and 
are not burials. 

The Krapina bones are whitish, yellowish, or ight brownish in 
color. They are not of great weight, but a chemical examination has 
shown that they are much altered in constitution, particularly in the 
fluorine-phosphates proportions. They may be roughly divided 
into the parts representing the vault of the skull; the jaws and the 
teeth; and other bones of the skeleton than the cranium. 

The long and other bones of the skeleton, relatively less interesting 
than the skulls and jaws, show the Krapina man to have been, as 
compared with central European white man of to-day, of moderate 
stature, and outside of the powerful jaws, of strong though not ex- 
cessive muscular development. Some individuals were very percep- 
tibly weaker than others. As to form, particularly in the upper ex- 
tremities, the bones in general are perceptibly more modern in type 
than those of the Neanderthal or Spy man, nevertheless they present, 
as well shown by Prof. Gorjanovi¢-Kramberger, numerous and im- 
portant primitive features. 

The fragments of the skulls show that the bones of the vault were 
considerably thicker than they are in the white man of to-day. The 
crania were of good size externally, but the brain cavities were prob- 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Hrdlicka PLATE 25. 


PHOTOGRAPH OF THE REMAINS OF KRAPINA SKULL ‘‘C,” FROM ABOVE. 


(After Gorjanoyi¢-Kramberger. ) 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Hrdlicka. PLATE 26. 


b 


a. KRAPINA LOWER JAW “H.” 6. KRAPINA LOWER JAW “I. 


(After Gorjanovié-Kramberger.) 


ANCIENT REMAINS OF MAN—HRDLICKA. _ 531 


ably below the present average. The vault of the skull was of good 
length and at the same time fairly broad, so that the cephalic index, 


b, OUTLINE OF KRAPINA SKULL ‘‘ C’’ (RECONSTRUCTED) AS SEEN 


(After Gorjanoyié-Kramberger.) 


FROM ABOVE. 


Fig. 8.—a, OUTLINE OP KRAPINA SKULL ‘‘ D’’? (RECONSTRUCTED) AS SEEN FROM ABOVE. 


at least in some of the individuals, was more elevated than usual in 
the crania of early man (fig. 8). They were also characterized, as the 


532 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


Neanderthal and other crania of the man from the Mousterian epoch, 
by lowness of the vault, and in every instance among the adults by a 
pronounced, complete supraorbital are. The last-named feature, 
though less marked, is plainly distinguishable even in the children. 
Its invariable presence is a definite proof of the fact, not quite well 
established before, that this arc was up to a certain phase of the 
Quaternary period a regular characteristic of the early man of a 
large part of Europe. 

A number of interesting features are presented by the fragments 
of the temporals. The mastoids are less developed than in man of 
to-day, approaching correspondingly the anthropoid form. They 
are rather slender and small, even in the adult male. The tympanic 
ring, on the other hand, is massive; and the glenoid fossx are not 
horizontal or nearly so, as in man of to-day, but are very perceptibly 
slanting in such a manner that their distal end is decidedly higher 
than the mesial. Many of these features connect the Krapina man 
directly or indirectly with earlier primate forms, and have since be- 
come largely reduced or eliminated in the human skull. 

The jaws (pls. 26, 27) and teeth, like other cranial parts, present 
many marks of less advanced stage of evolution. The lower jaws in 
particular are very interesting. The symphisis or fore part of these 
bones, while possessing already a faint trace of the future chin emi- 
nence, slopes invariably more or less downward and backward, thus 
approaching the form of the mandible in apes (pls. 26, 27). The 
bones are massive and in males very high. They are akin to the lower 
jaws of the La Quina and La Chapelle skulls, and represent de- 
cidedly more primitive forms than the mandibule of any man of 
historic times, though they are considerably nearer to the modern 
type than the jaw of Mauer. 

Of the upper maxilla there are eight or nine imperfect speci- 
mens, the majority from young subjects. They differ in develop- 
ment and conformation, but primitive characteristics are numerous. 
One of the best-preserved fragments, marked “E” or “19” pro- 
ceeding probably from a male adolescent and representing the part 
of the jaw from the right median incisor to the left second pre- 
molar, shows considerable height of the bone, a straight and consid- 
erably prognathic alveolar process, a very spacious high palate, pro- 
nounced subnasal fossee, and broad nasal aperture. 

The teeth of the Krapina man offer numerous peculiarities most 
of which point to lower stages of differentiation (pl. 28). They are 
in general very perceptibly larger than those of the modern white 
man; their roots, especially, are longer; and there are various de- 
tails of form, particularly in the crowns of the incisors and molars, 
some of which are related to anthropoid features. Notwithstanding 
these facts, the Krapina teeth, and particularly the canines, are on 
the whole relatively near those of present man. 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Hrdlicka. PLAS 277. 


b 


@. KRAPINA LOWER JAW ‘H,” FROM APPROXIMATELY A 13-YEAR-OLD CHILD. 
b. KRAPINA LOWER JAW “C,’’ FROM ABOVE. 


(After Gorjanoyié-Kramberger. ) 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Hrdliéka. 


PLATE 28. 


A NUMBER OF THE KRAPINA TEETH, MORE OR LESS ENLARGED. 


1, permanent median upper incisor from a small child; la, the same, greater enlargement; 2, per- 
manent upper canine, root not as yet fully developed; 3, permanent anterior lower premolar, right 
side; 3a, the same in greater enlargement; 4, permanent second (?) upper molar; 5, permanent 
lower left second molar; 6, permanent left lower first molar; 6a, the same, much enlarged; 7, per- 
manent upper median incisor, edge worn off; 8, the same; 9, lateral upper permanent incisor; 10, the 
samc; 11, a third permanent molar; lla, thesamein greater enlargement; 12, the left lower permanent 
second molar; 12a, the same much more enlarged; 13, the right permanent second molar; 18a, the 
same in greater enlargement; 14, a third permanent molar; 14a, the samein greater enlargement; 
15, a permanent third molar; 15a, the same. (From Gorjanovi¢c-Kramberger Mitth. Anthrop. Ges. 
Wien XXXI.) 


ANCIENT REMAINS OF MAN—-HRDLICKA. 533 


Taking everything into consideration, it is evident that the diluvial 
man of Krapina represents a group belonging to the family of the 
Homo neanderthalensis. Ue is very ancient and in many respects 
anatomically primitive, though he also shows in various details an 
advancement toward the actual human form; and we can readily 
adopt Prof. Gorjanovié-Kramberger’s opinion that morphologically 
the Krapina man is not any special, collateral, and extinct branch of 
the genus Homo, but more probably a direct and not excessively far 
distant ancestor of the Womo sapiens. 


THE PLEISTOCENE MAN OF JERSEY (ENGLAND). 


In 1910 Messrs. Nicolle and Sinel, of the Island of Jersey, gave 
notice in A/an and in a bulletin of the Jersey Society, of the dis- 
covery in an old cave on the Island of Jersey of twelve highly in- 
teresting human teeth, belonging to a man of the Mousterian epoch. 
The principal details of the find, according to the clear account pre- 
sented by the two authors and confirmed by the writer’s observations 
on the spot, are as follows: 

The cave where the ancient human remains were found is known 
as La Cotte, or La Cotte de St. Brelade, and is situated in a rough 
irregular cliff near the eastern horn of St. Brelade’s Bay, Jersey. 
At this part of the island granite rocks, considerably weathered and 
broken, rise steeply to about 200 feet above mean tide level, the shore 
at their base being covered with accumulations of large, rounded, 
waterworn bowlders (pls. 29-81). 

In one part of these cliffs there is an irregular rough ravine or 

gorge, about 40 feet in width, which penetrates inland about 150 
feet. The side walls of this ravine are, in a large part, quite ver- 
tical, and in the base of these walls on the left, near the upper ter- 
minus of the gorge, is a large cave which bears the above name. 

Before its exploration, the La Cotte cave was nearly filled by clay, 
bowlders, and blocks fallen from the much-weathered roof, and 
rubble drift in the form of a steeply sloping talus lay in front, ob- 
scuring a large portion of the mouth. Removal of this drift re- 
vealed the outline of the opening in the form of an irregular arch 
(pl. 31). 

The first indication that the cave had once been utilized by man 
dates from 1881, when two local naturalists, while “ geologizing ” on 
that part of the coast, found a flint implement at the foot of the 
talus, and, tracing its source, came upon a slightly exposed section 
of the cave floor. There they found flint chippings, and one or two 
bones, apparently of a large bird, but no importance was attached 
to the discovery. About 1894, two members of the Société Jersiaise, 


1Nicolle, E. T., and J. Sinel. Report on the exploration of the palaeolithic cave 
dwelling known as La Cotte, St. Brelade, Jersey. (Man. vol. 10, 1910, No. 102, pp. 185- 
188. Reprinted in 36° Bulletin de la Société Jersiaise, Jersey, p. 69.) 


534 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


Mr. R. Colson and Dr. Chappuis, excavated a portion of the ex- 
posed floor section of the cave and found a considerable number of 
flint implements and besides that a quantity of bone breccia, which 
contained one tooth and one metatarsal of a variety of horse. 

Subsequently various partial examinations of the accumulations 
in the cave resulted in the discovery of implements, and of a large 
number of flint chippings. All these are preserved in the Museum of 
the Société Jersiaise, at St. Heliére. 

In September, 1905, finally, the Jersey Society decided to explore 
the cave systematically, and Dr. Chappuis, Mr. Nicolle the secretary, 
and Mr. Colson, commenced work in that part of the exposed floor 
already mentioned. More flint implements were discovered, but 
at the commencement of October the work had to be abandoned owing 
to the rainy season and to the fact that the explorers were excavat- 
ing under dangerous conditions. It then became clear that a consider- 
able portion of the talus as well as some of the threatening rocks 
overhead had to be removed before the work could proceed. 

Thus matters remained until July, 1910, when the sowety resolved 
to make another attempt at the exploration of the cave. With the 
help of experienced quarrymen excavation was commenced on Au- 
_ gust 1, and after a little over three weeks’ work, sufficient of the 
rubble had been removed to reveal the form of the interior of the 
cave and to lay bare a portion of the floor about 11 feet square to the 
left of the entrance. 

The dimensions of the cave as revealed at this stage were as fol- 
lows: The entrance was 25 feet in height and about 20 feet in width. 
Just within, the roof sloped’ upward into a rough dome 30 to 32 feet 
from the floor. How far the cave entered the rock could not be as- 
certained, but judging from the slope of the roof downward towards 
the back, it was probably some 40 to 50 feet. 

As soon as a portion of the floor had been reached a careful search 
and examination were commenced, with the following results: 

The floor proper was not clearly marked, for layers of black soil, 
which proved to be a combination of ashes, carbonized wood and 
clay, were mixed up with whitish masses of bone detritus and clay 
compacted into breccia. Flint implements and ne were inter- 
spersed plentifully throughout these deposits. 

On the left of the entrance and at a distance Hoot it of about 8 
feet, was a hearth containing a quantity—probably a quarter of a ton 
or so—of wood ashes and carbonized wood. Close together, among 
the ashes of the hearth, were a few pebbles of granite and felsite 
bearing indications of having been heated. 

The presence of bones was manifest all through the layers con- 
stituting the floor, but due to advanced decomposition of the material, 
the cave not being a dry one, only here and there could fragments 


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ANCIENT REMAINS OF MAN—HRDLICKA. 535 


retaining any form be obtained. Nevertheless, in one corner, at a 
slightly higher elevation than the earth, there was found a mass of 
bone from which some determinable portions could be secured; and 
a careful examination of this mass led to the most important result 
of the excavations to this time, namely, the discovery of nine human 
teeth. Three of these were from the upper, five from the lower jaw. 
They represent, as was later determined, teeth of both sides and of 
one individual, but unfortunately no trace of the once supporting 
bone was any more apparent. 

All the bones and teeth recovered from the cave were taken to the 
British Museum for determination, and Drs. Woodward and An- 
drews identified the specimens as follows: 


ANIMAL TEETH: Part of left lower premolar of the wooly rhinoceros, Rhinoce- 
ros tichorhinus; last premolar and first molar of reindeer, Rangifer taran- 
dus (a large species apparently as large as the caribou); upper cheek 
teeth of a small species of Horse; parts of lower molars and upper cheek 
tooth of a large species of Horse; lower teeth in portion of jaw of one of 
small Bovidze; and left incisor of Bos, Spec.? 

NINE HUMAN TEETH, with subsequent recovery of four others. 

BoNES AND HORNS: Part of horn core of one of small Bovide; portion of antler 
of reindeer; bone, probably from articulation of foreleg of a deer; pelvic 
bones, probably from a small bovid; and a piece of bone, which fell to 
pieces on removal, from a rhinoceros. 


Among the fragments that could not be definitely determined was 
apparently a portion of a human tibia. 

Of flint instruments about 100 have been obtained. They are, 
without exception, of the well-known tongue-shaped Mousterian type, 
the “ pointe a main ” of Mortillet. 

The cave gave no evidence of other than one occupation, and is 
thus probably free from the confusion which results when implements 
and remains of the fauna of different periods occur together and 
have become mixed by the work of burrowing animals, water during 
floods, and other agencies, as is often the case in similar deposits. 

By their fauna and the uniform type of stone implements, the La 
Cotte cave deposits are shown clearly to be of the Mousterian epoch. 

Further explorations of the site were carried on under the auspices 
of the Jersey Society in 1911 and again in 1912. They are reported 
by Nicolle and Sinel and by Marett.1. They threw considerable light 
on the nature of the cave and its filling, and were extended to what 

1 Nicolle, E. T., and Sinel. Report on the resumed exploration of ‘‘ La Cotte,” St. 
Brelade, by the Société Jersiaise, 1911. (Man, vol 12, 1912, No. 88, pp. 158-162. Also 
in 37° Bulletin de la Société Jersiaise, 1912, pp. 2138-222.) 

Marett, R. R. PJeistocene Man in Jersey. (Archexologia, vol. 62, Oxford, 1911, pp. 
449-480.) 

Marett, R. R. Further observations on prehistoric man in Jersey. (Archzologia, vol. 
63, 1912, pp. 1-28.) 


Marett, R. R., and G. F. B. De Gruchy. Excavation of a further portion of La Cotte 
de St. Brelade. (38° Bulletin de la Société Jersiaise, 1913, pp. 326-330.) 


536 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


may prove to have been a part of the same hollow on the base of the 
wall of the opposite side of the gorge (“la Cotte de St. Brelade 
II”—Marett). They resulted in the discovery in both caves of 
numerous additional flint implements, all of the Mousterian type, 
and in the older excavation of more fragments of animal bones, 
referable principally to the wooly rhinoceros, the reindeer, a large 
variety of horse, and probably the Bos primigenius. But no further 
human bones or teeth came to notice. 

Meanwhile the human teeth (pl. 32) were subjected to careful ex- 
amination by Prof. Keith, of the Royal College of Surgeons, and 
Mr. Knowles, of the Oxford University. The results of these studies 
were published in 1911 in the Journal of Anatomy and Physiology, 
and later, with some additions, in the thirty-seventh bulletin of the 
Jersey Society. The following embraces the gist of these reports, as 
well as of the writer’s own observations.? 

The teeth are in an unexpectedly good state of preservation, only 
the terminal parts of the roots being broken away. Their color is 
dark brown, with grayish white somewhat chalky looking crowns. 
All show an advanced degree of fossilization. The apices of the 
cusps were worn away in life and the finer architecture of the crown 
is as if faded, probably through corrosive action of the moisture 
in the deposits that enclosed the specimens. 

Five of the teeth, namely a second left premolar, a first right and 
a second left molar, and the right and left third molar, with a part of 
the root of left incisor, belong to the upper jaw, while seven are from 
the lower jaw, being respectively a canine, first and second pre- 
molar with second molar of the left side, and a second incisor with 
second and third molars of the right side. All are probably from the 
same set and their characteristics are such that the ancient man they 
represent must be ranked anthropologically as one of the most primi- 
tive yet discovered. 

The following illustration (pl. 33), shows a reconstruction of 
the upper and lower dental arches of the St. Brelade man, by Keith 
and Knowles, and the upper arch in the modern human skull, after 
Cunningham. It is seen at a glance that the Jersey teeth are larger 
chan the modern in every direction and that in consequence the dental 
arches themselves must have been considerably larger. 


1Keith, A., and Ff. H. 8. Knowles. A description of teeth of paleolithic man from 
Jersey. (Journ. Anat. Physiol., London, vol. 46, 1911, pp. 12-27. Reprinted, with an 
additional note, in 37° Bulletin de la Société Jersiaise, 1912, pp. 223-240. Abstract in 
Nature, vol. 86, 1911, pp. 415-416.) 

2In June, 1912, the writer visited Jersey to examine the originals of these teeth and 
to visit the cave where they were discovered, and he wishes to *warmly thank Mr. 
Sinel and Dr. Dunlap for the courteous treatment and facilities which they extended to 
him on this oceasion, as well as Captain Rybot, of the 76 Punjabis, for his service in 
furnishing excellent sketches of the locality. 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Hrdliéka. PLATE 31. 


THE COTTE DE ST. BRELADE FROM NEAR. 


(From a photograph furnished the Smithsonian Institution by Dr. R. R. Marett, of Oxford. ) 


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ANCIENT REMAINS OF MAN—HRDLICKA. 537 


Another feature in which the Jersey teeth differ even more radi- 
cally from the recent, is their extraordinarily stout roots. The dia- 
meters of the neck and roots of the Jersey teeth are almost equal to 
and in some cases exceed those of the crown, indicating that rela- 
tively great requirements were made on the teeth by the quality and 
possibly also quantity of the food. Such roots indicate unmistakably 
strong muscles of mastication and a stout massive lower jaw, prob- 
ably somewhat smaller but scarcely less powerful than the still 
earlier Mauer mandible. 

The roots of the Jersey premolars and molars are not only stout 
but they are also to a large extent fused. This is not an anthropoid 
feature, for in the higher apes these roots are well apart. The fusion 
is due to great development of the dentine and cement of the roots, 
brought about in this early man, in the opinion of Keith and Knowles, 
by a changed manner of mastication, characterized by more lateral 
besides vertical movements of the lower jaw. Other primitive fea- 
tures of the teeth are the early filling of the pulp cavities by deposits 
of dentine, thus providing an early adaptation for wear; the size 
and characters of the first premolars, which contrary to what occurs 
in present man are larger than the second bicuspids; and certain 
features of the canine as well as the molars. 

Without going into more details, for which the reader will need 
to consult the originals—it may safely be concluded that the Jer- 
sey teeth constitute another valuable document of man’s ancestry; 
and that they show an early man, probably an earlier representative 
of the Homo neanderthalensis, already quite advanced in denture 
from the prehuman forms, but still with teeth much more powerful 
as well as less specifically differentiated than those of present man. 

The cave accumulations from which these teeth came are, fortu- 
nately, still far from exhausted which gives hopes of further im- 
portant discoveries. The first cavern itself still presents a large 
accumulation of deposits that have not been explored, and, as men- 
tioned above, there has been tapped a second cave in the rock oppo- 
site, while a communication between the two, as yet untouched, seems 
to le behind the sagged-down rocks at the head of the ravine. The 
distant parts of these hollows in particular demands examination. 
The Société Jersiaise, under whose auspices the explorations of the 
site have hitherto progressed, will place the scientific world under 
especial obligation by carrying the work on with equal care to its 
conclusion.? 


1Since this was written, a grant has been secured from the British Association for 
the Advancement of Science, by Dr. R. R. Marett, for further exploration of the cave, 
and in a recent letter to the writer Dr. Marett intimates that the work under this grant 
was not fruitless. 


538 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


THE FOSSIL MAN OF LA CHAPELLE-AUX-SAINTS. 


One of the most interesting, best authenticated, and thanks to 
Prof. Marcellin Boule now best-known skeletons of Early Man, is 
that of “the fossil man of La Chapelle-Aux-Saints. 

La Chapelle-Aux-Saints is a small village in the Department of 
Corréze, near the small railroad station of Vayrac and south of the 
town of Brive, in southern France. A little over 200 yards from the 
village and beyond the left bank of the small stream Sourdoire, in the 
side of a moderate elevation, is located a cave, now known as that of 
La Chapelle-Aux-Saints (pl. 34). In 1905 archeological exploration 
of this cave was undertaken by three Corréze priests, the abbés A. and 
J. Bouyssonie and L. Bardon. These explorations which from the 
beginning were successful, resulting in the recovery of numerous in- 
dustrial and other vestiges of paleolithic man, progressed gradually 
until the uniform archeological stratum was nearly exhausted, when, 
on the 8d of August, 1908, the excavators came across a shallow arti- 
ficial fossa in the floor of the cave in which lay the bones of a remark- 
able human skeleton. 

The human bones were carefully gathered and sent to Prof. Boule, 
of the Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle, in Paris, where they were 
cleaned and, as far as possible, restored; and the following December 
Prof. Boule demonstrated the skull, giving at the same time the first 
account of the find, before the Paris Academy of Sciences. One 
week later Messrs. Bouyssonie and Bardon presented before the Acad- 
emy their own observations, and these reports were followed at short 
intervals by several others before the same scientific body.’ 

Subsequently the skull and other parts of the skeleton were sub- 
jected by Prof. Boule to a thorough study and comparison, and the 
results of his work are published in a series of communications ex- 
tending through the sixth, seventh and eighth volumes of the An- 
nales de Paléontologie.® 

The various reports show that the cave of La Chapelle-Aux-Saints 
is a moderate-sized and rather low cavity, about 6 meters (6.5 yards) 
long, 2 to 4 meters (2.2 to 4.4 yards) broad, and 1 to 1.50 meters (1.1 
to 1.6 yards) high (fig. 9). When first approached it was seen to be 
nearly filled with accumulations, which later disclosed numerous 
traces of man, and by débris of the rock from the roof and sides. 
The deposits bearing traces of the presence of man were found to 


1 Boule, M. L’Homme fossile de La Chapelle-Aux-Saints. (C. R. Acad. se, 14 Dee., 
Ua also L’Anthropologie vol. 19, 1908, pp. 513 and 519; vol. 20, 1909, p. 257; and 
vol. 22, 1911, p. 129.) 

2 Bouyssonie, A. J., and L, Bardon. Découverte d’un squelette humain moustérien 4 la 
bouffia de La Chapelle-Aux-Saints. (C. R. 21 Dec., 1908.) Boule, M. Sur la capacité 
cranienne des Hommes fossiles°du type dit de Neanderthal. (C. R. 17 May, 1909.) 
La squelette du trone et des membres de Homme fossile de La Chapelle-Aux-Saints. 
(C. R. 7 June, 1909.) 

8 Paris, 1911 to 1913. Also published as a separate volume, 


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Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Hrdlicka. PEATERSOF 


THE LA CHAPELLE-AUX-SAINTS SKULL. SIDE VIEW. 


(After Boule.) 


ANCIENT REMAINS OF MAN—HRDLIOKA. 539 


proceed from but one age and one culture, namely the Mousterian. 
The objects of archeological interest recovered during the excavation 
comprise in the main worked stones of the well-known Mousterian 
types, and remains of bones of fossil animals, such as the reindeer, 
bison, Rhinoceros tichorhinus, etc. The animal remains indicate that 
the deposits date from somewhere near the middle of the glacial 
epoch. 

Under the accumulations the fioor of the cavern was found to be 
whitish, hard, marly calcareous; and in this hard base, at the dis- 
tance of a little over four meters from the entrance of the cave, was 
located the nearly rectangular, moderate-sized cavity * which lodged 
the fossil human skeleton. The depression was clearly made by the 


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Fig. 9.—CAvrE or LA CHAPELLE-AUX-SAIntTs. (After Bouyssonie & Bardon, and Boule.) 
a, Floor; b, longitudinal section; c, transverse sections. 


primitive inhabitants or visitors of the cave for the body and the 
whole represents very plainly a regular burial, the most ancient in- 
tentional burial thus far discovered. 

The body lay on its back, with the head to the westward, the 
latter being surrounded by stones. The left arm was extended, the 
right probably bent so that the hand was applied to or lay near the 
head. The lower limbs were partly flexed. Above the head were 
found three or four large flat fragments of long bones of animals, and 
somewhat higher there lay, still in their natural relation, some foot 
bones of a large Bovid, suggesting that the whole foot of the animal 
may have been placed in that position. About the body were many 


11.45 meters long, 1 m. broad, and 30 cm. deep. 


540 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1918. 


flakes of quartz and flint, some fragments of ochre, broken animal 
bones, etc., much as in the rest of the archeological stratum above 
the skeleton. 

There was no indication that the deposits in the cave have been 
moved in any way since the burial of the human body. To the right 
of the fossa containing the skeleton there was an abundance of large 
fragments of various animal bones, of jaws and vertebra of the rein- 
deer, and vertebre of a large Bovid, with some well-made implements 
of flint. The last-named vertebree and the flint implements were 
covered by two large blocks of stone; and above these stones, at the 
side wall of the cave, the earth showed the effects of fire. but it was 
not possible to determine whether this was of the same date as the 
deposits or the human burial beneath. 

Notwithstanding the care taken in the excavation some parts of 
the human skeleton were lost. What remains comprises the skull, 
almost complete, with the lower jaw; 21 vertebrae or pieces of same; 
20 ribs or their fragments; an incomplete left clavicle; the two 
humeri, almost complete; the two radii and the two ulne, all more or 
less defective; a few bones of the hands and feet; portions of the 
pelvic bones, fragments of the right femur (from which it is possible 
to reconstruct the bone) and the lower half of the left femur; the 
two patelle, and parts of the tibie. 

The state of preservation of the specimens is exactly like that of 
the animal bones recovered from the deposits above the burial fossa. 
They are ferruginous in color, heavier than any corresponding recent 
human bones and very perceptibly mineralized. 

Due to the kindness of Prof. Boule the writer was enabled in 1912 
to see the originals of the Chapelle-aux-Saints skeleton. At that 
time, however, Prof. Boule’s investigations on the specimens were 
not yet completed, in consequence of which it was not possible to 
undertake any detailed study on the bones, but even a brief examina- 
tion was sufficient to impress one deeply, particularly in the case of 
the skull, with the great scientific value of the remains. They repre- 
sent unquestionably another precious addition to the rapidly aug- 
menting material evidence of the highly interesting type of ancient 
man, the Homo neanderthalensis. 

Since the writer’s visit to the Paris Museum, Prof. Boule’s reports 
on the La Chapelle skeleton have been published in full. With these 
well-illustrated reports as well as a plaster model of the skull, and 
with what it was feasible to observe on the originals, it is possible to 
give the following brief notes on these specimens. 

The La Chapelle skull, notwithstanding its many peculiarities, is 
plainly a normal specimen, not affected (except in the dental arches) 
by any disease or by any premature closure of sutures (pls. 35, 36). 


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ANCIENT REMAINS OF MAN—HRDLICKA. 541 


The skull is distinctly masculine, and proceeds from an adult of 
somewhat advanced age. 

Its vault is remarkably like that of the Neanderthal cranium, 
though somewhat larger. There is the same huge, prominent, com- 
plete supraorbital arch. The nasal process is equally broad and 
sloping considerably downward and backward. Due to the pro- 
nounced supraorbital arch the upper half of the orbits, as in the 
Neanderthal skull, has a somewhat forward and downward inclina- 
tion, wholly unlike that of any man of to-day. The forehead, while 
low, is somewhat better formed than in the Neanderthal and Spy 
No. I crania and less sloping. The sagittal region is smooth and oval 
from side to side. The occiput is broad and shows a fair protrusion 
but as general in the Neanderthal type of skulls and in harmony with 
the rest of the vault, it is decidedly low. The outline of the vault 
when viewed from above is a prolonged ovoid, mildly asymetric in 
its posterior portion, due to a slightly greater size and protrusion 
backward of the right side (pl. 37). The mastoids are remarkably 
moderate for a male skull and one of this size, approaching in this 
respect the earlier primate form. The zygomae are stout and widely 
expanded, due to powerful temporal muscles. 

The bones of the vault, again, as in the Neanderthal and other 
crania of this type, are thicker than in the skulls of modern man; 
nevertheless the capacity of the skull was quite large. Prof. Boule 
estimates it at from 1,600 to 1,620 c. c. This indicates not necessarily 
a superior brain, but rather one subserving to largely developed 
organs and powerful musculature. 

Turning to the base of the skull, we find that while the glenoid 
fossee, excepting their large size and one or two other peculiarities, 
are more like those of recent man than those for instance in the 
Krapina crania, the foramen magnum is of a very large size! and is 
situated, or rather extends farther backward than in man of the 
present day. There were probably other primitive features of the 
base, which the damaged parts do not allow to determine with cer- 
tainty (figs. 10, 11). 

The facial parts show malar bones with powerful frontal and 
zygomatic processes, but rather small and not prominent body. The 
nasal structures indicate that the nose was quite long and very broad; 
but the lower borders of the nasal aperture are already fairly sharp, 
as In more modern crania, and the nasal spine, though bifid, was well 
developed. 

The orbits are not excessively high, but are spacious and deep. 
The suborbital (canine) fosse are totally absent, the maxilla showing 


+ Corresponding to a stout spinal cord, which is generally associated with a pronounced 
development of the motor system and other parts of the body. 


542 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


in their place even a slight convexity. The lower part of the face 
was prognathic, though evidently not excessively so. The dental 
arches regrettably show extensive effects of a suppurative process, as 
the result of which all but one or two of the teeth in the two jaws 
have been lost, and the height of the alveolar processes was much 
reduced by absorption. All that can be determined is that the sub- 
nasal portion of the upper jaw was quite high, and that the palate 
was enormous. 


Fig. 10—SKULL OF THE FOSSIL MAN OF LA CHAPELLE-AUX-SAINTS, AFTER RESTORATION OF THE NASAL 
BONES AND JAws. (After Boule; reproduced by MacCurdy, Smithsonian Report for 1909.) 


The lower jaw is large, stout, chinless—though not sloping back- 
ward at the symphisis, and otherwise primitive. It was doubtless 
high, but the reduction of the alveolar process through pyorrheea 
and absorption does not permit a definite appreciation of this 
character. 

Although only two badly worn premolars remain in the two jaws, 
it can nevertheless be clearly seen from the size of their roots, from 
the alveoli and from the size of the dental arches, that the teeth in 
this skull must have been very large. 


ANCIENT REMAINS OF MAN—HREDLICKA. 543 


The long and other bones of the skeleton are, on the whole, less 
remarkable than those of the Neanderthal or Spy remains, but the 
peculiarities and primitive features which they possess are of much 
the same order. The stature of the Chapelle-aux-Saints man is esti- 
mated by Prof. Boule to have been about 1.611 meters (5 ft. 3 in.), 
which is close to that of the Neanderthal man and the man of Spy. 
The bones are robust; the extremities of the long bones are large. 
The radii and ulne and especially the tibie and fibule, are again, as 
in other skeletons of the Neanderthal type, relatively short. There 


Bet 

Fig. 11.— PROFILES OF THE CRANIUM OF A CHIMPANZEE, THE CRANIUM OF LA CHA- 
PELLE-AUX-SAINTS, AND THAT OF A MODERN FRENCHMAN SUPERPOSED, AND 
WITH A COMMON BASI-NASAL LINE EQUAL IN LENGTH FOR EACH. (After Boule; 
reproduced by MacCurdy, Smithsonian Report for 1909.) 


Ba., Basion; Na., Nasion. 


is also the pronounced curvature to the radius; and there are other 
peculiarities about the specimens an enumeration of which in this 
place is not feasible. Certain of these peculiarities indicate, accord- 
ing to Prof. Boule, that the individual from whom the Chapelle-aux- 
Saints skeletal remains proceed had, in common with others of the 
Neanderthal type, not as yet reached a fully erect posture. 

The study of the brain of this individual, so far as possible from a 
cast of the cranial cavity, also shows various features of importance.1 


+Boule, M., and R. Anthony. L’encéphale de homme fossile de La Chapelle-aux- 
Saints, (L’Anthropologie, vol. 22, 1911, pp. 129-196.) 


544 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


Among the more strictly human characteristics are its large size, 
normally always a very favorable feature, though not necessarily an 
index of high intelligence; a predominance in size of the left over 
the right hemisphere; and certain other anatomical features. The 
more simian characteristics included espécially the general form of 
the organ, the evident simplicity and coarseness of the convolutions, 
and the relatively poor development of the frontal parts, which is 
more pointed forward than obtains in man of to-day. “The brain, 
on the whole,” to quote Prof. Boule, “is already human by the 
abundance of the cerebral substance; but this substance is still lack- 
ing the advanced organization which characterizes the brain of the 
actual man.” 

Regrettably, the La Chapelle-aux-Saints cave has now been com- 
pletely exhausted, so that no hope can be entertained of securing 
further specimens from this particular spot; but the site lies in a 
region which is under careful scientific observation and other im- 
portant discoveries in the neighborhood may yet be possible. 


THE “LA QUINA” SKELETON. 


On the 16th of October, 1911, Dr. Henri Martin, a physician and 
archeologist of Paris, reported before the Académie des Sciences of 
Paris the find of a very remarkable ancient human skeleton, at La 
Quina, Department of Charente, in France. “ We have discovered,” 
he says, “on the 18th of September, at La Quina, a human skeleton 
of the Neanderthal type.” It lay in a horizontal position, in clayey 
sand, at the distance of 4.5 meters from the base of a cliff. The de- 
posits in which it rested represent the ancient muddy bed of the 
near-by stream Voultron, and belong, archeologically, to the lower 
Mousterian epoch. The clayey sand was covered by débris from the 
cliff portion, which in former times extended shelf lke over the 
stream. 

The skeleton lay 80 cm. (2.6 ft.) deep in the sand, and was not 
surrounded by any objects which would indicate an intentional burial. 
Its location and position seemed to show that the body was deposited 
where it lay accidentally. The clayey sand contained a few dis- 
seminated worked stones and a few bones that have been utilized by 
man, but showed none of the handsome pieces which characterized 
the superior Mousterian epoch. The age of the skeleton is, in all 
probability, referable to the earliest part of the middle Quaternary. 

The remains have suffered from prolonged submersion and pres- 
sure, as a result of which the cranial bones were disjointed and in 
part broken; but from the first instant it could readily be seen that 


1Martin, Henri. Sur un squelette humain de Il’époque moustérienne trouvé en 
Charente. (Comptes Rendus, tome 153, 1911, p. 728.) 


Smithsonian Report, 1913,—Hrdlicka. PLATE 38. 


THE LA QUINA SKULL AND PARTS OF THE SKELETON STILL IN THE MATRIX. 
(After H. Martin.) 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Hrdlicka. PLATE 39. 


THE LA QUINA SKULL, PARTLY RECONSTRUCTED. 
(After H. Martin.) 


ANCIENT REMAINS OF MAN——HRDLICKA. 545 


the cranium presented in a high degree certain primitive character- 
istics in which it approaches those of the Neanderthal type. 

A little later in the year Dr. Martin made a somewhat more exten- 
sive report on the find before the Prehistoric Society of France, 
and in 1912 he published four other accounts relating to the dis- 
covery.2, From these publications it appears that archeological ex- 
plorations at La Quina by Dr. Martin and others had been carried 
on intermittently for seven years before the human skeleton came to 
light, yielding many examples of paleolithic stone industries refer- 
able in the main to the upper or younger division of the Mousterian 
epoch. In addition a number of human teeth and various fragments 
of human bones, belonging to the upper Mousterian, were encountered 
during this time, but none, barring perhaps a larger portion of one 
lower jaw, are of special importance.® 

The sandy layer which contained the La Quina skeleton yielded 
some worked stones representing lance points, knives, and scrapers, 
but all of inferior workmanship. Evidence was also found in traces 
of fire and calcined bones, that man of the period represented by the 
skeleton lived or took refuge in the caverns or holes of the cliff above. 
The animals on which the La Quina man lived were the reindeer, 
bison, horse, and rarely also the mammoth. The total Mousterian 
deposits at La Quina indicate a long duration of the epoch, and one 
during which man advanced considerably in the way of manufacture 
of his stone utensils. 

The bones of the skeleton were taken to Paris, partly still in the 
sediments with which they were surrounded, and were then most 
carefully worked out from the matrix (pl. 38). The different parts 
of the skull, it was found, besides being disjointed, were forced to- 
gether so as to overlap, while the facial parts were broken and to a 
large extent deficient. With what was left of the jaws were 14 of 
the teeth. 

The remains were seen at first sight to present a number of impor- 
tant primitive characteristics. The frontal bone showed a very pro- 
nounced supraorbital arch, with low and sloping forehead; the vault, 
it could readily be determined, had been low; the temporal fosse 
were spacious, for the accommodation of powerful temporal muscles; 


1Martin, Henri. Presentation d’un crane humain trouvé avec le squelette a la base 
du Moustérien de La Quina (Charente). (Bulletin de la Société Préhistorique Frangaise, 
Séance du 26 Oct., 1911, pp. 1-12, 3 pls.) 

2 A propos de la découverte de ivyhomme fossile de La Quina. (Annales de la Faculté 
des Lettres de Bordeaux, etc., 4th series, vol. 14, 1912, pp. 61-64.) Le Crane de 
VYhomme fossile Moustérien de La Quina. (C. R. A. F. A. 8. 1912, pp. 537-538.) 
L’homme fossile Moustérien de La Quina (Bull. Soc. Préhistorique Francaise, 1912, 
pp. 1-36, 4 pls.), and Position stratigraphique des Ossements humains recueillis dans 
le Moustérien de La Quina de 1908 21912. (Bull. Soc. Préhist. Francaise, 1912, pp. 1-8, 
1 pl.) 

® Pictured in the publication last named in footnote 2, 


44863°—smM 1913 35 


546 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


the jaws, particularly the mandible, were heavy; and the teeth were 
large:in size, besides showing other remarkable features. 

In June, 1912, Dr. Martin kindly showed the precious originals to 
the writer. At that time the skull was already fairly well restored, 
and impressed one as a typical, though not very massive, representa- 
tive of the Neanderthal type of crania (pl. 39). It presents the same 
extraordinary supraorbital arch, a similar low forehead, similarly 
low vault, and similar ovoid outline when looked at from above, as 
the Neanderthal, Spy, Gibraltar, and other skulls of the group; but 
the occiput is rather more protruding. The lower jaw is stout and 
evidently possessed little, if any, chin prominence; the teeth, though 
considerably worn off, are very large. There is nothing pathological 
about the specimen or other parts of the skeleton. The individual 
from whom it proceeds was an adult of perhaps 45 years of age, and, 
in the opinion of Dr. Martin, supported by the relative gracility of 
the bones, it was a female. The skull, as well as the other bones, 
show advanced state of mineralization. The color of the skull is 
ocher to brownish yellow, with areas or ramifications of darker 
brown. <As to the teeth, the dentine parts are darkened, but the 
enamel is well preserved and white. The other bones of the skeleton 
are yellowish gray. 

The long and other bones, so far as saved, indicate an individual 
of moderate stature and good, but not excessive, musculature. As 
to the detailed characteristics of the bones as well those of the 
skull, it will be necessary to await the complete report by Dr. Martin. 

An ingenious effort at a reconstruction of the head and neck of 
the La Quina woman by Dr. Martin will be found in the Bulletin 
de la Société Préhistorique Francaise, of 1913.? 


THE MOUSTIER MAN. 


Still another highly interesting and scientifically valuable skeleton 
of early man, recently discovered, is that of the so-called “Homo 
mousteriensis Hauseri.” The skeleton is preserved in the Museum 
fiir Vélkerkunde at Berlin, where it was seen by the writer. It was 
discovered in March 1908, by O. Hauser, during archeological exca- 
vation in what is known as “the lower Moustier cave,” or “ paleo- 
lithic station number 44,” at Le Moustier, in the valley of the Vezére. 
Department of Dordogne, France, and was eventually purchased 
from Herr Hauser for the Berlin Museum. 

The cave in question (fig. 12), or more properly rock shelter, when 
excavated gave numerous evidences of man’s occupation, but no hu- 
man bones. The skeleton under consideration was discovered in the 
terrace in front of the cave, almost vertically below its entrance. It 


1Séance du 27 Février, 1913. 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Hrdlicka. Plate 40. 


HOMO MOUSTERIENSIS, FROM THE CAVERN OF LE MOUSTIER (DORDOGNE). 
(After MacCurdy, from the Smithsonian Report for 1909.) 


PLATE 41. 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Hrdlicka. 


THE SKULL OF HOMO MOUSTERIENSIS HOUSERI. SIDE VIEW. 


ANCIENT REMAINS OF MAN-—HRDLICKA. 547 


lay about 3 feet deep and no disturbance in the superimposed deposits 
was noticeable. i | 

The human bones were uncovered with great care in the presence 
of responsible witnesses, then covered again with earth and left in 
situ for several months, though shown during this time to a number 
of visitors. In August they were exposed for Virchow, v. d. Steinen, 
Klaatsch, and other scientific men, and finally, two days afterwards, 
in the presence of Prof. Klaatsch, they were gathered from the 
deposits. 

A somewhat picturesque account of the discovery by Hauser will 
be found in the 1909 volume of the Archiv fiir Anthropologie.*. The 
skeleton, it appears, lay on its side in a natural position, with the 


go Postlioun 
= of the sKkeletaw 


Fig. 12.— THE UPPER (A) AND LOWER (B) LE MOUSTIER CAVES AND THE POSITION OF THE 
SKELETON OF HOMO MOUSTERIENSIS. (After Klaatsch & Hauser.) 


right hand under the occiput, the left extended along the body. 
About the body and among the bones were found seventy-four worked 
flints, ten of which were of a well-defined form. On the skull rested 
a charred bone of a Bos primigenius, and in the neighborhood of the 
thorax lay a tooth of the same animal. Besides this, 45 other frag- 
ments of animal bones were gathered in a close vicinity to the human 
remains. 


1Klaatsch, A., and O. Hauser. Homo mousteriensis Hauseri. Hin altdiluvialer Skelett- 
fund im Departement Dordogne und seine Zugehérigkeit zum Neandertaltypus, (Archiy f, 
Anthropologie, N. F., vol, 7, 1909.) 


548 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


The examination of the human bones was begun on the spot by 
Prof. Klaatsch, who eventually reached the following conclusions: 

The skeleton belongs to an adolescent of perhaps 16 years of age 
and probably of the male sex. The height of the boy, as estimated 
from the long bones, was probably 1.45 to 1.50 meters (4 feet 9 inches 
_ to 4 feet 11 inches). 

The skull (pls. 40, 41) notwithstanding the youth of the subject, 
shows a number of characteristics which are peculiar to the Neander- 
thal group. While of a good size, with only moderately thick bones 
of the vault and the latter of a fair height, it shows nevertheless a 
rather low and sloping forehead; a well-marked complete supra- 
orbital arch or torus, which later in life would doubtless have become 
much more prominent; relatively large dental arches, with large and 
in a number of particulars primitive teeth; a massive lower jaw with 
complete absence of the chin eminence; and other interesting features. _ 
The glenoid fosse, especially that on the right, show an inclination 
upward and outward, as in the skulls of Krapina and as in the 
skulls of children in modern man. And there are a number of other 
characteristics on the Moustier skull and skeleton which connect the 
latter morphologically quite closely with the man of Krapina. 

The long and other bones, so far as preserved, possess also nu- 
merous primitive characteristics. Especially noticeable among these 
are the relatively large extremities, particularly the head of the 
femur; a strong development of the external condyle of the thigh 
bones; the peculiar curvature of the same; the very marked curvature 
of the radius, etc. Klaatsch reached the deduction that the skeleton 
belongs undoubtedly to the Homo neanderthalensis variety of the 
early European. 


OTHER SKELETAL REMAINS OF ANCIENT MAN IN EUROPE. 


In addition to the more important skeletal remains of early man 
dealt with in the preceding pages, there exist a considerable number 
of specimens which, because of their isolated or defective nature, are 
of less value to science, or which have not as yet been properly 
studied and determined, or which, finally, retain some elements of 
uncertainty as to their true position in human chronology. And be- 
sides these there is a large additional series of skeletal remains, in- 
cluding the latest paleolithic and the neolithic remains, which, while 
still ancient, are nevertheless relatively near to man of the present 
date. 

Among the earlier isolated or defective specimens may be men- 
tioned first of all the two teeth of Taubach. One of these, a molar 
of the first dentition, was found in the old Quaternary deposits at 


ANCIENT REMAINS OF MAN—HRDLICKA. 549 


Taubach near Weimar, Germany, in 1892, by A. Weiss. The crown 
of this tooth shows considerable wear and this, with other character- 
istics of the specimen, created at first an impression that the tooth 
was perhaps not human. Later, however, the tooth was accepted 
as proceeding from a human child. Meanwhile one of the laborers 
at Taubach discovered in equally old deposits a first permanent left 
lower molar about the human nature of which there can be no 
question, and this tooth also shows various primitive features. Both 
these finds have been reported upon and the specimens described by 
Nehring.t. The permanent molar is preserved in the museum in Jena. 

Other specimens belonging to this category are the more or less 
defective lower jaws of La Naulette, Malarnaud, and Sipka. The La 
Naulette jaw was found in 1866 by Dupont in a cave at La Naulette, 
Belgium, together with an ulna and a few other fragments of human 
bones. The find was reported and thebones described by Dupont in the 
Bulletin de Académie Royale Belge, second series, volume 12, 1866, 
and by Topinard in the Révue d’Anthropologie of the same year. 
The original specimen is preserved in the Musée Royal d’Histoire 
Naturelle, Brussels. It is evidently a portion of the lower jaw of a 
subadult female. It lacks all chin prominence and shows primitive 
features of the alveoli and hence teeth, such as a broad root of the 
canine with the central groove on each side, and the very perceptibly 
increasing size of the sockets of the molars from before backwards. 

The lower jaw of Malarnaud was discovered in 1889 in a small 
side chamber of the cave of Malarnaud, near the village of Mont- 
seron, Arize, France. It lay 2 meters (about 7 feet) deep beneath a 
layer of stalagmite, in a mass consisting of a great quantity of bones 
of Quaternary animals and reddish clay. The bone is that of an 
adolescent, the third molars being still in their sockets. The teeth 
are missing, with the exception of the first right molar. The jaw is 
not of great size and is rather low but stout. As the La Naulette 
specimen, it lacks the chin prominence such as characterizes the lower 
jaw of modern man.” 

The Sipka specimen is a fragment of the lower jaw of a child, 
probably between the eighth and tenth year of age. It was found in 
1880 in the Sipka cave, near Stramberk, Moravia, by Dr. Karel J. 
Maska, the deserving Moravian explorer. It shows six teeth— 
three incisors, the right canine, and the two right premolars, the 


1Nehring, A. Uber einen fossilen Menschenzahn aus dem Diluvium von Taubach bei 
Weimar. (Verh. Berl. G. Anthr., etc., Zeit. Ethn., 1895, pp. 388-340, 425-433.) Same 
author, Uber einen Menschlichen Molar aus dem Diluvium von Taubach bei Weimar. 
(Ibid., pp. 573-577.) See also Adloff, Das Gebiss des Menschen und der Anthropomor- 
phen., Berlin, 1908; Schmidt, R. R., Die diluviale Vorzeit Deutschlands, Stuttgart, 1912; 
and Festschrift Anthropologische Versammlung Weimar, 1912. 

2For original descriptions of the find, see Filhol, H.—Bull. de la Soc. Philomath. de 
Paris, 1889, and Congrés Anthrop. Préhist., 1889, p. 417. 


550 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


three last named not yet erupted. The bone is very stout and shows 
other primitive features, but the chin was already slightly developed. 
The original of the Sipka jaw is still in the care of Prof. Ma&ka at 
Telé, Moravia, where it was seen by the writer. 

Among the specimens which while indubitably ancient have not 
as yet been completely or finally described, should be mentioned, in 
the first place the parts of the several skeletons discovered between 
1909 and 1912 by Capitan and Peyrony, in the late Mousterian 
archeological deposits of La Ferrassie, and the child’s skull found by 
the same explorers in 1909 in the cave of Pech de |’Aze, near Sarlat 
(Dordogne), France. The writer has seen these specimens, which 
are preserved and are being restored in the Museum d’Histoire Na- 
turelle, Paris; they are in the care of Prof. Boule, who will eventu- 
ally describe them. Certain observations on some parts of these 
skeletons have already. been included in Prof. Boule’s reports on the 
Chapelle-aux-Saints’ skeleton. He holds that the remains belong to 
the Homo Neanderthalensis.’ 

Among the ancient, but less definitely determined skeletal remains, 
and among those belonging to the younger paleolithic (Late Quat- 
ernary) period, there may be mentioned especially the Ochoz,* 
Brux (Most), Brno (Briinn) No. 1,° Canstadt,t Combe-Capelle,® 
Eguisheim,’ Galley Hill,* and possibly the Ipswich,® skulls and 
skeletons. For the often not fully satisfactory details concerning 
these specimens the reader must be referred to the original publi- 
cations. 

Of especial importance, however, is the magnificent collection of 
ancient skeletal remains discovered at Piedmost, Moravia, by Prof. 
K. J. MaSka. This splendid material, which consists of 14 human 

1HWor detailed description of the Sipka and the jaw, with the earlier literature of 
the find, see MaSka, Karel, J.—Der diluviale Mensch in Mihren, 8°. Neutitschein, 1886. 

2¥For first reports concerning these finds, see Boule, M.—Nouvelles entrées dans les 
collections de Paléontologie du Muséum. (L’Anthropologie, vol. 22, 1911, pp. 112-113.) 
Capitan, L., and Peyrony—Station préhistorique de la Ferrassie. (Revue anthropologique, 
vol. 22, 1912, pp. 29-99.) Capitan, L. & Peyrony. ‘Trois nouveaux squelettes humains 
fossiles. (Revue anthropologique, Noy., 1912, pp. 489-440); and Obermaier, H.—Der 
Mensch der Vorzeit, vol. 1, 1912, pp. 144-145, 339, 436. 

2Rzehak, A. Verhandlungen des naturforschenden Vereins, Briinn, vol. 44, 1905; and 
Zeitschrift des Miihrischen Landesmuseums, vol. 9, Briinn, 1909, pp. 277-313. 

4Schwalbe, G. Studien zur Vorgeschichte des Menschen. Zeitschrift fiir Morphologie 
und Anthropologie, Sonderheft, 1906, with further biography, 

® Makowsky, A. Der Mensch der Diluvialzeit Mihrens. Briinn, 1899; Obermaier, H.— 
Der Mensch der Vorzeit, 1912, pp. 298-352. 

6“ Homo Aurignacensis Hauseri”; Klaatsch, H., and O. Hauser.—Prihist. Zeitschr., 
1910; and Klaatsch, H.—Die Aurignacrasse und ihre Stellung im Stammbaum der 
Menschheit, (Zeitschr. Ethnol., 1910.) 

7Broca, P. Fragments de crine humaine d’Eguisheim. (Bull. Soc. D’Anthrop, Paris, 
2d ser., Paris. 1867, pp. 129-131): Schwalbe, G.—Der Schidel von Egisheim Beitrige 
zur Anthropologie Elsass Lothringes Heft 3, Strassburg, 1902. 

8 Newton, BE. T. Quarterly Journal of the Geelogical Society, August, 1895; also 
Munro, R.—Paleolithic man, etc., Addenburg, 1912, pp. 109-115; Keith, A.—Ancient 


types of man, 1911; also Duckworth, W. J. H.—Prehistoric man, Cambridge, 1912. — 
* Being determined and described by Prof. Arthur Keith. 


ANCIENT REMAINS OF MAN——HRDLIGKA. 55) 


skeletons, some of them almost complete, with additional skeletal parts 
from six other bodies, is now being studied by Prof. J. Matiegka, 
the director of the Anthropologicky Ustav, of Prague. The writer 
has seen this collection on two occasions and he regards it as by far 
the most important assemblage of material from the transitional 
period between earlier and the latest paleolithic forms. It repre- 
sents in a measure the much searched-for bridge between the Nean- 
derthal and recent man. Archeologically, these valuable skeletons 
belong to the earlier Solutrean or the Aurignacean. 

Besides the above described or enumerated specimens, there are 
many others scattered over the museums of Europe, for which great 
or less antiquity has been at some time, or is still being claimed. In 
many of these instances the student finds that the evidence adduced 
and the testimony of the skeletal parts themselves speak rather 
against any great age, or leave the subject in serious doubt. It would 
seem best for the progress of science to eliminate all such specimens, 
with perhaps some of those mentioned above, from consideration, 
unless or until new and ample evidence be found to convince us that 
they really deserve place in the range of the precious authentic docu- 
ments that represent the earlier phases of man’s natural history. 

The gradually accumulating finds which throw light on the physi- 
cal past of man, have naturally stimulated further exploration in 
the same lines; and the various failures and uncertainties connected 
with some of the finds in the past have impressed all investigators 
in the field with the necessity of the most careful and properly con- 
trolled procedure. Besides men of science, the educated public, en- 
gineers controlling public works, and even many among the work- 
men in Europe have been impressed by these remarkable discoveries, 
and in hundreds of instances are doubtless watching for new treas- 
ures. Under these conditions we are justified in hoping that from 
time to time we shall receive additions to the precious material 
already in our hands; that these additions will fill the existing vacua, 
and gradually extend farther back to the more strictly intermediary 
forms between man and his ancestral stock, and perhaps eventually 
even to the source of these link-forms themselves, to the peculiar 
morphologically unstable family of the anthropogenous primates. 

While the anthropologist is thus painfully and slowly reconstruct- 
ing the past physical history of man, he is also with every new fact 
adding another imperishable block to the foundation upon which will 
stand not only the knowledge of the future in regard to man himself, 
but also the laws of his further physical development, and radically 
even those of his beliefs and his moral behavior. This is a part of 
the service of anthropology to humanity. 


552 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


ADDITIONAL BIBLIOGRAPHY. 


Among the more recent anthropological literature there are a num- 
ber of monographs that deal more or less comprehensively with the 
subject of ancient man. These publications, which contain numer- 
ous further references, are as follows: 


Anvéin, D.—ProizchoZdeni Geloyvéka i ievo iskopaiemi predki. Itogi Nauki, 
Moskva, 1912, pp. 691-784. 

Bazor, J.—Paleontologie Glovéka. Véstnik Klubu Pifrodovéd., XIV., Pros- 
téjov, 1911, pp. 1-40. 

Backman, G—Om Miinniskans utveckling efter mi&nniskoblifvander. Ymer, 
Tidskrift Utgifven af Svenska Sallskapet ftir Antropologi och Geografi, Arg. 
1909, H. 2 Och 3. Also, Miinniskans Forhistoria, 8°, Stockholm, 1911. 

Branca, W.—Der Stand underer Kenntnisse vom fossilen Menschen. 8°, Leip- 
zig, 1910. 

DuckwortTH, W. L. H.—Prehistoric Man. 12°, Cambridge, 1912. 

Fiscuer, E.—Fossile Hominiden. Handwérterbuch der Naturwissenschaften, 


IV, 1913. 
GeErKIz, J.—The Antiquity of Man in Europe. 8°, London, 1913. 


Keirn, A.—Ancient types of Man. 12°, London, 1911. 

MacCurpy, G. G.—Recent discoveries bearing on the antiquity of Man in 
Europe. Smithsonian Report for 1909, pp. 531-583. 

MacCurpy, G. G.—The Man of Piltdown. Science. 1914, pp. 158-160. 

Munro, R.—Paleolithic Man and terramara settlements in Europe. 8°, Edin- 
burgh, 1912. 

OBERMAIER, H.—Der Mensch der Vorzeit; gr. 8°, Berlin, 1912, do., Quaternary 
Human Remains in Central Europe; Smithsonian Report for 1906, pp. 373— 
397. 

SmirH, G. Exvior.—The Evolution of Man. Smithsonian Report for 1912, pp. 
~Doe—Ot 2. 


. 


THE REDISTRIBUTION OF MANKIND. 
By Prof. H. N. Dickson, M. A., D. Se. 


Since the last meeting of this section the tragic fate of Capt. 
Scott’s party, after its successful journey to the South Pole, has 
become known; and our hopes of welcoming a great leader, after 
great achievement, have been disappointed. There is no need to 
repeat here the narrative of events or to dwell upon the lessons 
afforded by the skill and resource and heroic persistence which en- 
dured to the end. All these have been, or will be, placed upon per- 
manent record. But it is right that we should add our word of 
appreciation and proffer our sympathy to those who have suffered 
loss. It is for us also to take note that this last of the great Antarec- 
tic expeditions has not merely reached the pole, as another has done, 
but has added, to an extent that few successful exploratory under- 
takings have ever been able to do, to the sum of scientific geographi- 
cal knowledge. As the materials secured are worked out it will. I 
believe, become more and more apparent that few of the physical and 
biological sciences have not received contributions, and important 
contributions, of new facts, and also that problems concerning the 
distribution of the different groups of phenomena and their action 
and reaction upon one another—the problems which are specially 
within the domain of the geographer—have not merely been ex- 
tended in their scope but have been helped toward their solution. 

The reaching of the two poles of the earth brings to a close a long 
and brilliant chapter in the story of geographical exploration. There 
is still before us a vista of arduous research in geography, bewilder- 
ing almost in its extent, in such a degree, indeed, that “ the scope of 
geography ” is in itself a subject of perennial interest. But the days 
of great pioneer discoveries in topography have definitely drawn 
to their close. We know the size and shape of the earth, at least to 
a first approximation, and as the map fills up we know that there can 
be no new continents.and no new oceans to discover, although all are 
still, in a sense, to conquer. Looking back, we find that the qualities 


1 Presidential address to Section E (geography), at the Birmingham meeting of the 
British association, September, 1918. Reprinted by permission from Report of the 
British Association for the Advancement of Science, Birmingham, 1913, pp. 536-546. 
London, 1914. 

553 


554 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


of human enterprise and endurance have shown no change; we need 
no list of names to prove that they were alike in the days of the 
earliest explorations, of the discovery of the New World, or of the 
sea route to India, of the “ Principall Navigations,” or of this final 
attainment of the poles. The love of adventure and the gifts of 
courage and endurance have remamed the same; the order of discoy- 
ery has been determined rather by the play of imagination upon ac- 
cumulated knowledge, suggesting new methods and developing ap- 
propriate inventions. Men have dared to do risky things with inad- 
equate appliances, and in doing so have shown how the appliances 
may be improved and how new enterprises may become possible as 
well as old ones easier and safer. As we come to the end of these 
* oreat explorations,” and are restricted more and more to investiga- 
tions of a less striking sort, it is well to remember that in geography, 
as in all other sciences, research continues to make as great demands 
as ever upon those same qualities and that the same recognition is 
due to those who continue in patient labor. 

When we look into the future of geographical study it appears that 
for some time to come we shall still be largely dependent upon work 
similar to that of the pioneer type to which I have referred, the work 
of perfecting the geographer’s principal weapon, the map. There 
are many parts of the world about which we can say little except 
that we know they exist; even the topographical map, or the mate- 
rial for making it, is wanting; and of only a few regions are there 
really adequate distributional maps of any kind. These matters 
have been brought before this section and discussed very fully in 
recent years, so I need say no more about them, except perhaps to 
express the hope and belief that the production of topographical 
maps of difficult regions may soon be greatly facilitated and accel- 
erated with the help of the new art of flying. 

I wish to-day rather to ask your attention for a short time to a 
phase of pioneer exploration which has excited an increasing amount 
of interest in recent years. Civilized man is, or ought to be, begin- 
ning to realize that in reducing more and more of the available sur- 
face of the earth to what he considers a habitable condition he is 
making so much progress, and making it so rapidly, that the problem 
of finding suitable accommodations for his increasing numbers must 
become urgent in a few generations. We are getting into the posi- 
tion of the merchant whose trade is constantly expanding and who 
foresees that his premises will shortly be too small for him. In our 
case removal to more commodious premises elsewhere seems impos-- 
sible—we are not likely to find a means of migrating to another 
planet—so we are driven to consider means of rebuilding on the old 
site and so making the best of what we have that our business may 
not suffer. 


REDISTRIBUTION OF MANKIND—DICKSON. 33d 


In the type of civilization with which we are most familiar there 
are two fundamental elements—supplies of food energy and supplies 
of mechanical energy. Since at present, partly because of geo- 
graphical conditions, these do not necessarily (or even in general) 
occur together, there is a third essential factor, the line of transport. 
It may be of interest to glance, in the cursory manner which is pos- 
sible upon such occasions, at some geographical points concerning 
each of these factors and to hazard some speculations as to the prob- 
able course of events in the future. 

Tn his presidential address to the British Association at its meeting 
at Bristol in 1898, Sir William Crookes gave some valuable estimates 
of the world’s supply of wheat, which, as he pointed out, is “ the most 
sustaining food grain of the great Caucasian race.” Founding upon 
these estimates, he made a forecast of the relations between the 
probable rates of increase of supply and demand, and concluded that 
“ Should all the wheat-growing countries add to their [producing] 
area to the utmost capacity, on the most careful calculation the yield 
would give us only an addition of some 100,000,000 acres, supplying, 
at the average world yield of 12.7 bushels to the acre, 1,270,000,000 
bushels, just enough to supply the increase of population among 
bread eaters till the year 1931.” The president then added, “ Thirty 
years is but a day in the life of a nation. Those present who may 
attend the meeting of the British Association 30 years hence will 
judge how far my forecasts are justified.” 

Half the allotted span has now elapsed, and it may be useful to 
inquire how things are going. Fortunately, this can be easily done, 
up to a certain point, at any rate, by reference to a paper published 
recently by Dr. J. F. Unstead, in which comparisons are given for 
the decades 1881-1890, 1891-1900, and 1901-1910. Dr. Unstead shows 
that the total wheat harvest for the world may be estimated at 
2,258,000,000 bushels for the first of these periods, 2,575,000,000 
for the second, and 3,233,000,000 for the third, increases of 14 per 
cent and 25 per cent, respectively. He points out that the increases 
were due “mainly to an increased acreage,” the areas being 
192,000,000, 211,000,000, and 242,000,000 acres, but also “ to some ex- 
tent (about 8 per cent) to an increased average yield per acre, for 
while in the first two periods this was 12 bushels, in the third period 
it rose to 13 bushels per acre.” 

If we take the period 1891-1900, as nearly corresponding to Sir 
William Crookes’s initial date, we find that the succeeding period 
shows an increase of 658,000,000 bushels, or about half the estimated 
increase required by 1931, and that attained chiefly by “ increased 
acreage.” 


1 Geographical Journal, August and September, 1913. 


556 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


But signs are not wanting that increase in this way will not go on 
indefinitely. We note (also from Dr. Unstead’s paper) that in the 
two later periods the percentage of total wheat produced which was 
exported from the United States fell from 32 to 19, the yield per acre 
showing an increase meanwhile to 14 bushels. In the Russian Empire 
the percentage fell from 26 to 23, and only in the youngest of the new 
countries—Canada, Australia, and the Argentine—do we find large 
proportional increases. Again, it is significant that in the United 
Kingdom, which is, and always has been, the most sensitive of all 
wheat-producing countries to variations in the floating supply, the 
rate of falling off of home production shows marked if irregular 
diminution. 

Looking at it in another way, we find (still from Dr. Unstead’s 
figures) that the total amount sent out by the great exporting coun- 
tries averaged in 1881-1890, 295,000,000 bushels; 1891-1900, 402,- 
000,000; 1901-1910, 532,000,000. These quantities represent, respec- 
tively, 13, 15.6, and 16.1 per cent of the total production, and it 
would appear that the percentage available for export from these 
regions is, for the time at least, approaching its limit—i. e., that only 
about one-sixth of the wheat produced is available from surpluses 
in the regions of production for making good deficiencies elsewhere. 

There is, on the other hand, abundant evidence that improved agri- 
culture is beginning to raise the yield per acre over a large part of 
the producing area. Between the periods 1881-1890 and 1901-1910 
the average in the United States rose from 12 to 14 bushels; in Russia, 
from 8 to 10; in Australia, from 8 to 10. It is likely that in these 
last two cases at least a part of the increase is due merely to more 
active occupation of fresh lands as well as to the use of more suitable 
varieties of seed, and the effect of improvements in methods of culti- 
vation alone is more apparent in the older countries. During the 
same period the average yield increased in the United Kingdom 
from 28 to 32 bushels, in France from 17 to 20, Holland, 27 to 33; 
Belgium, 30 to 35; and it is most marked in the German Empire, for _ 
which the figures are 19 and 29. 

In another important paper ' Dr. Unstead has shown that the pro- 
duction of wheat in North America may still in all likelihood be very 
largely increased by merely increasing the area under cultivation, and 
the reasoning by which he justifies this conclusion certainly holds 
good over large districts elsewhere. It is of course impossible, in 
the present crude state of our knowledge of our own plant, to form 
any accurate estimate of the area which may, by the use of suitable 
seeds or otherwise, become available for extensive cultivation. But 
T think it is clear that the available proportion of the total supply 


1 Geographical Journal, April and May, 1912. 


REDISTRIBUTION OF MANKIND—DICKSON. 557 


from “ extensive” sources has reached, or almost reached, its maxi- 
mum, and that we must depend more and more upon intensive 
farming, with its greater demands for labor. 

The average total area under wheat is estimated by Dr. Unstead as 
192,000,000 acres for 1881-1890, 211,000,000 acres for 1891-1900, and 
249,000,000 acres for 1901-1910. Making the guess—for we can make 
nothing better—that this area may be increased to 300,000,000 acres, 
and that under ordinary agriculture the average yield may eventually 
be increased to 20 bushels over the whole, we get an average harvest 
of 6,000,000,000 bushels of wheat. ‘The average wheat eater con- 
sumes, according to Sir William Crooke’s figures, about 4$ bushels 
per annum; but the amount tends to increase. It is as much 
(according to Dr. Unstead) as 6 bushels in the United Kingdom and 
8 bushels in France. Let us take the British figure, and it appears 
that on a liberal estimate the earth may in the end be able to feed 
vermanently 1,000,000,000 wheat eaters. If prophecies based on 
population statistics are trustworthy, the crisis will be upon us before 
the end of this century. After that we must either depend upon some 
substitute to reduce the consumption per head of the staple foodstuff, 
or we must take to intensive farming of the most strenuous sort, 
absorbing enormous quantities of labor and introducing, sooner or 
later, serious difficulties connected with plant food. We leave the 
possibility of diminishing the rate of increase in the number of 
bread eaters out of account. 

We gather, then, that the estimates formed in 1898 are in the main 
correct, and the wheat problem must become one of urgency at no 
distant date, although actual shortage of food is a long way off. 
What is of more immediate significance to the geographer is the ele- 
ment of change, of return to earlier conditions, which is emerging 
even at the present time. If we admit, as I think we must do, that 
the days of increase of extensive farming on new land are drawing 
to a close, then we admit that the assignment of special areas for the 
production of the food supply of other distant areas is also coming to 
its end. The opening up of such areas, in which a sparse population 
produces food in quantities largely in excess of its own needs, has 
been the characteristic of our time, but it must give place to a more 
uniform distribution of things, tending always to the condition of a 
moderately dense population, more uniformly distributed over large 
areas, capable of providing the increased labor necessary for the 
higher type of cultivation, and self-supporting in respect of grain 
food at least. We observe in passing that the colonial system of our 
time only became possible on the large scale with the invention of the 
steam locomotive, and that the introduction of railway systems in 
the appropriate regions, and the first tapping of nearly all such 
regions on the globe, has taken less than a century. 


558 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


Concentration in special areas of settlement, formerly chiefly ef- 
fected for military reasons, has in modern times been determined 
more and more by the distribution of supplies of energy. The posi- 
tion of the manufacturing district is primarily determined by the 
supply of coal. Other forms of energy are, no doubt, available, but, 
as Sir William Ramsay showed in his presidential address at the 
Portsmouth meeting in 1911, we must in all probability look to coal 
as being the chief permanent source. 

In the early days of manufacturing industries the main difficulties 
arose from defective land transport. The first growth of the indus- 
trial system, therefore, took place where sea transport was relatively 
easy; raw material produced in a region near a coast was carried 
to a coal field also near a coast, Just as in the times when military 
power was chiefly a matter of “natural defenses,” the center of 
power and the food-producing colony had to be mutually accessible. 
Hence the Atlantic took the place of the Mediterranean, Great 
Britain eventually succeeded Rome, and eastern North America 
became the counterpart of Northern Africa. It is to this, perhaps 
more than to anything else, that we in Britain owe our tremendous 
start amongst the industrial nations, and we observe that we used 
it to provide less favored nations with the means of improving their 
system of land transport, as well as actually to manufacture imported 
raw material and redistribute the products. 

But there is, of course, this difference between the supply of food- 
stuff (or even military power) and mechanical energy, that in the 
case of coal at least it is necessary to live entirely upon capital; the 
storing up of energy in new coal fields goes on so slowly in compari- 
son with our rate of expenditure that it may be altogether neglected. 
Now, in this country we began to use coal on a large scale a little 
more than a century ago. Our present yearly consumption is of the 
order of 300,000,000 tons, and it is computed? that at the present 
rate of increase “ the whole of our available supply will be exhausted 
in 170 years.” With regard to the rest of the world we can not, 
from lack of data, make even the broad assumptions that were pos- 
sible in the case of wheat supply, and for that and other reasons it is 
therefore impossible even to guess at the time which must elapse 
before a universal dearth of coal becomes imminent; it is perhaps 
sufficient to observe that to the best of our knowledge and belief one 
of the world’s largest groups of coal fields (our own) is not likely 
to last three centuries in all. 

Here again the present interest lies rather in the phases of change 
which are actually with us. During the first stages of the manufac- 
turing period energy in any form was exceedingly difficult to trans- 


1 General Report of the Royal Commission on Coal Supplies, 1906, 


REDISTRIBUTION OF MANKIND—DICKSON. 559 


port, and this led to intense concentration. Coal was taken from the 
most accessible coal field and used, as far as possible, on the spot. It 
was chiefly converted into mechanical energy by means of the steam 
engine, an extremely wasteful apparatus in small units, hence still fur- 
ther concentration ; thus the steam engine is responsible in part for the 
factory system in its worst aspect. The less accessible coal fields were 
neglected. Also, the only other really available source of energy— 
water power—remained unused, because the difficulties in the way of 
utilizing movements of large quantities of water through small ver- 
tical distances (as in tidal movements) are enormous; the only easily 
applied source occurs where comparatively small quantities of water 
fall through considerable vertical distances, as in the case of water- 
falls. But, arising from the geographical conditions, waterfalls 
(with rare exceptions, such as Niagara) occur in the “ torrential ” 
part of the typical river course, perhaps far from the sea, almost 
certainly in a region too broken in surface to allow of easy communi- 
cation or even of industrial settlement of any kind. 

However accessible a coal field may be to begin with, it sooner or 
later becomes inaccessible in another way, as the coal near the surface 
is exhausted and the workings get deeper. No doubt the evil day is 
postponed for a time by improvements in methods of mining—a sort 
of intensive cultivation—but as we can put nothing back the end must 
be the same, and successful competition with more remote but more 
superficial deposits becomes impossible. And every improvement in 
land transport favors the geographically less accessible coal fields. 

From this point of view it is impossible to overestimate the impor- 
tance of what is to all intents and purposes a new departure of the 
same order of magnitude as the discovery of the art of smelting iron 
with coal, or the invention of the steam engine, or of the steam loco- 
motive. I mean the conversion of energy into electricity, and its 
transmission in that form (at small cost and with small loss) through 
great distances. First we have the immediately increased availability 
of the great sources of cheap power in waterfalls. The energy may 
be transmitted through comparatively small distances and converted 
into heat in the electric furnace, making it possible to smelt econom- 
ically the most refractory ores, as those of aluminium, and converting 
such unlikely places as the coast of Norway or the West Highlands of 
Scotland into manufacturing districts. Or it may be transmitted 
through greater distances to regions producing quantities of raw ma- 
terials, distributed there widespread to manufacturing centers, and 
reconverted into mechanical energy. The Plain of Lombardy pro- 
duces raw material in abundance, but Italy has no coal supply. The 
waterfalls of the Alps yield much energy, and this transmitted in the 
form of electricity, in some cases for great distances, is converting 


560 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


northern Italy into one of the world’s great industrial regions. Chis- 
holm gives an estimate of a possible supply of power amounting to 
3,000,000 horsepower, and says that of this about one-tenth was 
already being utilized in the year 1900. 

But assuming again, with Sir William Ramsay, that coal must con- 
tinue to be the chief source of energy, it is clear that the question of 
accessibility now wears an entirely different aspect. It is not alto- 
gether beyond reason to imagine that the necessity for mining, as 
such, might entirely disappear, the coal being burnt in situ and 
energy converted directly into electricity. In this way some coal 
fields might conceivably be exhausted to their last pound without 
serious increase in the cost of getting. But for the present it is 
enough to note that, however inaccessible any coal field may be from 
supplies of raw material, it is only necessary to establish generating 
stations at the pit’s mouth and transport the energy to where it can 
be used. One may imagine, for example, vast manufactures carried 
on in what are now the immense agricultural regions of China, 
worked by power supplied from the great coal deposits of Shansi. 

There is, however, another peculiarity of electrical power which 
will exercise increasing influence upon the geographical distribution 
of industries. The small electric motor is a much more efficient ap- 
paratus than the small steam engine. We are, accordingly, already 
becoming familiar with the great factory in which, instead of all tools 
being huddled together to save loss through shafting and belting, 
and all kept running all the time, whether busy or not (because the 
main engine must be run), each tool stands by itself and is worked by 
its own motor, and that only when it is wanted. Another of the 
causes of concentration of manufacturing industry is therefore re- 
duced in importance. We may expect to see the effects of this be- 
coming more and more marked as time goes on, and other forces 
working toward uniform distribution make themselves more felt. 

The points to be emphasized so far, then, are, first, that the time 
when the available areas whence food supply, as represented by 
wheat, is derived are likely to be taxed to their full capacity within a 
period of about the same length as that during which the modern 
colonial system has been developing in the past; secondly, that cheap 
supplies of energy may continue for a longer time, although eventu- 
ally they must greatly diminish; and, thirdly, there must begin in the 
near future a great equalization in the distribution of population. 
This equalization must arise from a number of causes. More intensive 
cultivation will increase the amount of labor required in agriculture, 
and there will be less difference in the cost of production and yield 
due to differences of soil and climate. Manufacturing industries will 
be more uniformly distributed, because energy, obtained from a 
larger number of sources in the less accessible places, will be distrib- 


REDISTRIBUTION OF MANKIND—DICKSON. 561 


uted over an increased number of centers. The distinction between 
agricultural and industrial regions will tend to become less and less 
clearly marked, and will eventually almost disappear in many parts 
of the world. 

The effect of this upon the third element is of first-rate importance. 
It is clear that as the process of equalization goes on the relative 
amount of long-distance transport will diminish, for each district 
will tend more and more to produce its own supply of staple food and 
carry on its own principal manufactures. This result will naturally 
be most marked in what we may call the “ east-and-west ” transport, 
for as climatic controls primarily follow the parallels of latitude, the 
great quantitative trade, the flow of foodstuffs and manufactured ar- 
ticles to and fro between peoples of like habits and modes of life, 
runs primarily east and west. Thus the transcontinental functions 
of the great North American and Eurasian railways, the east-and- 
west systems of the inland waterways of the two continents, and the 
connecting links furnished by the great ocean ferries must become 
of relatively less importance. 

The various stages may be represented, perhaps, in some such man- 
ner as this. If / is the cost of producing a thing locally at a place A 
by intensive cultivation or what corresponds to it, if Z is the cost of 
producing the same thing at a distant place B, and 7’ the cost of 
transporting it to A, then at A we may at some point of time have a 
-more or less close approximation to 


Tapp 


We have seen that in this country, for example, 7 has been greater 
than /-+-7 for wheat ever since, say, the introduction of railways in 
North America, that the excess tends steadily to diminish, and that 
however much it may be possible to reduce 7 either by devising 
cheaper modes of transport or by shortening the distance through 
which wheat is transported, 7+7 must become greater than /, and 
it will pay us to grow all or most of our own wheat. Conversely, in 
the seventies of last century 7 was greater than #+7' in North 
America and Germany for such things as steel rails and rolling stock, 
which we in this country were cultivating “extensively ” at the time 
on more accessible coal fields, with more skilled labor and better or- 
ganization than could be found elsewhere. In many cases the posi- 
tions are now, as we know, reversed, but geographically 7 must win 
all round in the long run. 

In the case of transport between points in different latitudes, the 
conditions are, of course, altogether dissimilar, for in this case com- 
modities consist of foodstuffs, or raw materials, or manufactured 
articles, which may be termed luxuries, in the sense that their use is 
scarcely known until cheap transport makes them easily accessible, 

44863°—sm 19183——36 


562 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


when they rapidly become “ necessaries of life.” Of these the most 
familiar examples are tea, coffee, cocoa, and bananas, india rubber 
and manufactured cotton goods. There is here, of course, always the 
possibility that wheat as a staple might be replaced by a foodstuff 
produced in the tropics, and it would be extremely interesting to study 
the geographical consequences of such an event as one-half of the sur- 
face of the earth suddenly coming to help in feeding the two quarters 
on either side; but for many reasons, which I need not go into here, 
such a consummation is exceedingly unlikely. What seems more 
probable is that the trade between different latitudes will continue to 
be characterized specially by its variety, the variety doubtless increas- 
ing, and the quantity increasing in still larger measure. The chief 
modification in the future may perhaps be looked for in the occasional 
transference of manufactures of raw materials produced in the tropics 
to places within the tropics, especially when the manufactured article 
is itself largely consumed near regions of production. The neces- 
sary condition here is a region, such as, e. g., the monsoon region, in 
which there is sufficient variation in the seasons to make the native 
population laborious; for then, and apparently only then, is it pos- 
sible to secure sufficient industry and skill by training, and therefore 
to be able to yield to the ever-growing pressure in more temperate 
latitudes due to increased cost of labor. The best examples of this 
to-day are probably the familiar ones of cotton and jute manufac- 
ture in India. With certain limitations, manufacturing trade of this 
kind is, however, likely to continue between temperate and strictly 
tropical regions, where the climate is so uniform throughout the year 
that the native has no incentive to work. There the collection of the 
raw material is as much as, or even more than can be looked for—as 
in the case of mahogany or wild rubber. Where raw material has to 
be cultivated—as cotton, cultivated rubber, ete.—the raw material 
has to be produced in regions more of the monsoon type, but it will 
probably—perhaps as much for economic as geographical reasons— 
be manufactured at some center in the temperate zones, and the 
finished product transported thence, when necessary, to the point of 
consumption in the tropics. 

We are here, however, specially liable to grave disturbances of dis- 
tribution arising from invention of new machinery or new chemical 
methods; one need only mention the production of sugar or indigo. 
Another aspect of this which is not without importance may perhaps 
be referred to here, although it means the transference of certain in- 
dustries to more accessible regions merely, rather than a definite 
change of such an element as latitude. I have in mind the sudden con- 
version of an industry in which much labor is expended on a small 
amount of raw material into one where much raw material is con- 
sumed, and by the application of power-driven machinery the labor 


REDISTRIBUTION OF MANKIND—DICKSON. 563 


required is greatly diminished. One remembers when a 50-shilling 
Swiss watch, although then still by tradition regarded as sufficiently 
valuable to deserve inclosure in a case constructed of a precious metal, 
was considered a marvel of cheapness. American machine-made 
watches, produced by the ton, are now encased in the baser metals 
and sold at some 5 shillings each, and the watch-making industry 
has ceased to be specially suited to mountainous districts, 

In considering the differences which seem likely to arise in what 
we may call the regional pressures of one kind and another, pressures 
which are relieved or adjusted by and along certain lines of trans- 
port, I have made a primary distinction between “ east-and-west ” 
and “ north-and-south ” types, because both in matters of food supply 
and in the modes of life which control the nature of the demand for 
manufactured articles climate is eventually the dominant factor; and, 
as I have said, climate varies primarily with latitude. This is true 
specially of atmospheric temperature; but temperature varies also 
with altitude, or height above the level of the sea. To a less extent 
‘rainfall, the other great element of climate, varies with altitude, but 
the variation is much more irregular. More important in this case 
is the influence of the distribution of land and sea, and more especi- 
ally the configuration of the land surface, the tendency here being 
sometimes to strengthen the latitude effect. where a continuous ridge 
is interposed, as in Asia, practically cutting off “ north-and-south ” 
communication altogether along a certain line, emphasizing the par- 
allel-strip arrangement running east and west to the north of the 
line, and inducing the quite special conditions of the monsoon region 
to the south of it. We may contrast this with the effect of a “ north- 
and-south” structure, which (in temperate latitudes especially) 
tends to swing what we may call the regional lines round till they 
cross the parallels of latitude obliquely. This is typically illustrated 
in North America, where the angle is locally sometimes nearly a right 
angle. It follows, therefore, that the contrast of “ east-and-west ” 
and “north-and-south ” lines, which I have here used for purposes 
of illustration, is necessarily extremely crude, and one of the most 
pressing duties of geographers at the present moment is to elaborate 
a more satisfactory method of classification. I am very glad that we 
are to have a discussion on “ Natural regions” at one of our sede- 
runts. Perhaps I may be permitted to express the hope that we shall 
concern ourselves with the types of region we want, their structure 
or “ grain,” and their relative positions, rather than with the precise 
delimitation of their boundaries, to which I think we have sometimes 
been inclined, for educational purposes, to give a little too much at- 
tention. 

Before leaving this I should like to add, speaking still in terms of 
“ east-and-west ” and “ north-and-south,” one word more about the 


564 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


essential east-and-west structure of the Old World. I have already 
referred to the great central axis of Asia. This axis is prolonged 
westward through Europe, but it is cut through and broken to such 
an extent that we may include the Mediterranean region with the 
area lying farther north, to which indeed it geographically belongs, 
in any discussion of this sort. But the Mediterranean region is 
bounded on the other side by the Sahara, and none of our modern 
inventions facilitating transport has made any impression upon the 
dry desert ; nor does it seem likely that such a desert will ever become 
a less formidable barrier than a great mountain mass or range. We 
may conclude, then, that in so far as the Old World is concerned, the 
“north-and-south” transport can never be carried on as freely as it 
may in the New, but only through certain weak points, or “round the 
ends,” i. e., by sea. It may be further pointed out that the land areas 
in the southern hemisphere are so narrow that they will scarcely 
enter into the “ east-and-west ” category at all—the transcontinental 
railway as understood in the northern hemisphere can not exist; it 
is scarcely a pioneer system, but rather comes into existence as a later 
by-product of local east-and-west lines, as in Africa. 

These geographical facts must exercise a profound influence upon 
the future of the British Isles. Trade south of the great dividing 
line must always be to a large extent of the “ north-and-south ” type, 
and the British Isles stand practically at the western end of the great 
natural barrier. From their position the British Isles will always 
be a center of immense importance in entrepot trade, importing com- 
modities from “south” and distributing “east and west,” and simi- 
larly in the reverse direction. This movement will be permanent, 
and will increase in volume long after the present type of purely 
“ east-and-west” trade has become relatively less important than it 
is now, and long after the British Isles have ceased to have any of 
the special advantages for manufacturing industries which are due 
to their own resources either in the way of energy or of raw material. 
We can well imagine, however, that this permanent advantage of 
position will react favorably, if indirectly, upon certain types of our 
manufactures, at least for a very long time to come. 

Reverting briefly to the equalization of the distribution of popu- 
lation in the wheat-producing areas and the causes which are now at 
work in this direction, it is interesting to inquire how geographical 
conditions are likely to influence this on the smaller scale. We may 
suppose that the production of staple foodstuffs must always be more 
uniformly distributed than the manufacture of raw materials, or 
the production of the raw materials themselves, for the most im- 
portant raw materials of vegetable origin (as cotton, rubber, etc.) 
demand special climatic conditions, and, apart from the distribution 
of energy, manufacturing industries are strongly influenced by the 


REDISTRIBUTION OF MANKIND-—DIOCKSON. 565 


distribution of mineral deposits, providing metals for machinery, 
and so on. It may, however, be remarked that the useful metals, 
such as iron, are widely distributed on or near regions which are not 
as a rule unfavorable to agriculture. Nevertheless, the fact remains 
that while a more uniform distribution is necessary and inevitable in 
the case of agriculture, many of the conditions of industrial and 
social life are in favor of concentration; the electrical transmission 
of energy removes, in whole or in part, only one or two of the cen- 
tripetal forces. The general result might be an approximation to 
the conditions occurring in many parts of the monsoon areas—a 
number of fairly large towns pretty evenly distributed over a given 
agricultural area, and each drawing its main food supplies from the 
region surrounding it. The position of such towns would be deter- 
mined much more by industrial conditions, and less by military con- 
ditions, than in the past (military power being in these days mobile, 
and not fixed) ; but the result would on a larger scale be of the same 
type as was developed in the central counties of England, which, 
as Mackinder has pointed out, are of almost equal size and take the 
name of the county town. Concentration within the towns would, 
of course, be less severe than in the early days of manufacturing 
industry. Each town would require a very elaborate and highly 
organized system of local transport, touching all points of its agri- 
cultural area, in addition to lines of communication with other towns 
and with the great “ north-and-south ” lines of world-wide commerce, 
but these outside lines would be relatively of less importance than 
they are now. We note that the more perfect the system of local 
transport the less the need for points of intermediate exchange. 
The village and the local market town will be “sleepy” or decadent 
as they are now, but for a different reason; the symptoms are at 
present visible mainly because the country round about such local 
centers is overwhelmed by the great lines of transport which pass 
through them; they will survive for a time through inertia and the 
ease of foreign investment of capital. The effect of this influence 
is already apparent since the advent of the “commercial motor,” 
but up to the present it has been more in the direction of distributing 
from the towns than collecting to them, producing a kind of “sub- 
urbanization” which throws things still further out of balance. 
The importance of the road motor in relation to the future develop- 
ment of the food-producing area is incalculable. It has long been 
clear that the railway of the type required for the great through 
lines of fast transport is ill adapted for the detailed work of a small 
district, and the “light” railway solves little and introduces many 
complications. ‘The problem of determining the direction and capacity 
of a system of roads adequate to any particular region is at this stage 
one of extraordinary difficulty; experiments are exceedingly costly, 


566 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


and we have as yet little experience of a satisfactory kind to guide 
us. The geographer, if he will, can here be of considerable service 
to the engineer. 

In the same connection, the development of the agricultural area 
supplying an industrial center offers many difficult problems in rela- 
tion to what may be called accessory products, more especially those 
of a perishable nature, such as meat and milk. In the case of meat 
the present position is that much land which may eventually become 
‘available for grain crops is used for grazing, or cattle are fed on 
some grain, like maize, which is difficult to transport or is not satis- 
factory for bread making. The meat is then temporarily deprived 
of its perishable property by refrigeration, and does not suffer in 
transport. Modern refrigerating machinery is elaborate and com- 
plicated, and more suited to use on board ship than on any kind of 
land transport; hence, the most convenient regions for producing 
meat for export are those near the seacoast, such as occur in the 
Argentine or the Canterbury plains of New Zealand. ‘The case is 
similar to that of the accessible coal field. Possibly the preserving 
processes may be simplified and cheapened, making overland trans- 
port easier, but the fact that it usually takes a good deal of land to 
produce a comparatively smal] quantity of meat will make the difh- 
culty greater as land becomes more valuable. Cow’s milk, which in 
modern times has become a “necessary of life” in most parts of the 
civilized world, is in much the same category as meat, except that 
difficulties of preservation, and therefore of transport, are even 
greater. That the problem has not become acute is largely due to 
the growth of the long-transport system available for wheat, which 
has enabled land round the great centers of population to be devoted 
to dairy produce. If we are right in supposing that this state of 
things can not be permanent the difficulty of milk supply must 
increase, although relieved somewhat by the less intense concentra- 
tion in the towns; unless, as seems not unlikely, a wholly successful 
method of permanent preservation is devised. 

In determining the positions of the main centers, or, rather, in 
subdividing the larger areas for the distribution of towns with their 
supporting and dependent districts, water supply must be one of the 
chief factors in the future, as it has been in the past; and in the 
case of industrial centers the quality as well as the quantity of water 
has to be considered. A fundamental division here would probably 
be into districts having a natural local supply, probably of hard 
water, and districts in which the supply must be obtained from a 
distance. In the latter case engineering works of great magnitude 
must often be involved, and the question of total resources available 
in one district for the supply of another must be much more fully 
investigated than it has been. In many cases, as in this country, 


REDISTRIBUTION OF MANKIND—DICKSON. 567 


the protection of such resources pending investigation is already 
much needed. It is worth noting that the question may often be 
closely related to the development and transmission of electrical 
energy from waterfalls, and the two problems might in such cases 
be dealt with together. Much may be learned about the relation of 
water supply to distribution of population from a study of history, 
and a more active prosecution of combined historical and geograph- 
ical research would, I believe, furnish useful material in this connec- 
tion, besides throwing interesting light on many historical questions. 

Continued exchange of the “north-and-south” type, and at least 
a part of that described as “ east-and-west,” gives permanence to a 
certain number of points where, so far as can be seen, there must 
always be a change in the mode of transport. It is not likely that 
we shall have heavy freight-carrying monsters in the air for a long 
time to come, and until we have the aerial “tramp”, transport must 
be effected on the surfaces of land and sea. However much we may 
improve and cheapen land transport, it can not in the nature of 
things become as cheap as transport by sea. For on land the essen- 
tial idea is always that of a prepared road of some kind, and, as 
Chisholm has pointed out, no road can carry more than a certain 
amount; traffic beyond a certain quantity constantly requires the 
construction of new roads. It follows, then, that no device is likely 
to provide transport indifferently over land and sea, and the sea- 
port has in consequence inherent elements of permanence. Im- 
proved and cheapened land transport increases the economy arising 
from the employment of large ships rather than small ones, for not 
only does transport inland become relatively more important, but 
distribution along a coast from one large seaport becomes as easy as 
from a number of small coastal towns. Hence the conditions are in 
favor of the growth of a comparatively small number of immense 
seaport cities hke London and New York, in which there must be 
great concentration not merely of work directly connected with 
shipping, but of commercial and financial interests of all sorts. The 
seaport is, in fact, the type of great city which seems likely to in- 
crease continually in size, and provision for its needs can not in 
general be made from the region immediately surrounding it, as in 
the case of towns of other kinds. In special cases there is also, no 
doubt, permanent need of large inland centers of the type of the 
“railway creation,” but under severe geographic control these must 
depend very much on the nature and efficiency of the systems of land 
transport. It is not too much to say (for we possess some evidence 
of it already) that the number of distinct geographical causes which 
give rise to the establishment and maintenance of individual great 
cities is steadily diminishing, but that the large seaport is a per- 
manent and increasing necessity. It follows that aggregations of 


568 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


the type of London and Liverpool, Glasgow and Belfast, will always 
be amongst the chief things to be reckoned with in these islands, 
irrespective of local coal supply or accessory manufacturing indus- 
tries, which may decay through exhaustion. 

I have attempted in what precedes to draw attention once more to 
certain matters for which it seems strangely difficult to get a hearing. 
What it amounts to is this, that as far as our information goes the 
development of the steamship and the railway, and the universal in- 
troduction of machinery which has arisen from it, have so increased 
the demand made by man upon the earth’s resources that in less than 
a century they will have become fully taxed. When colonization 
and settlement in a new country proceeded slowly and laboriously, 
extending centrifugally from one or two favorable spots on the coast, 
it took a matter of four centuries to open up a region the size of 
England. Now we do as much for a continent like North America in 
about as many decades. In the first case it was not worth troubling 
about the exhaustion of resources, for they were scarcely more than 
touched, and even if they were exhausted there were other whole 
continents to conquer. But now, so far as our information goes, we 
are already making serious inroads upon the resources of the whole 
earth. One has no desire to sound an unduly alarmist note, or to sug- 
gest that we are in imminent danger of starvation, but surely it 
would be well, even on the suspicion, to see if our information is 
adequate and reliable and if our conclusions are correct; and not 
merely to drift in a manner which was justifiable enough in Saxon 
times, but which, at the rate things are going now, may land us 
unexpectedly in difficulties of appalling magnitude. 

What is wanted is that we should seriously address ourselves to a 
stock taking of our resources. A beginning has been made with a 
great map on the scale of one to a million, but that is not sufficient; 
we should vigorously proceed with the collection and discussion of 
geographical data of all kinds, so that the major natural distribu- 
tions shall be adequately known, and not merely those parts which 
commend themselves, for one reason or another, to special national 
or private enterprises. The method of Government survey em- 
ployed in most civilized countries for the construction of maps, the 
examination of geological structure, or the observation of weather 
and climate is satisfactory as far as it goes, but it should go further 
and be made to include such things as vegetation, water supply, 
supplies of energy of all kinds, and, what is quite as important, the 
bearings of one element upon others under different conditions. 
Much, if not most, of the work of collecting data would naturally 
be done as it is now by experts in the special branches of knowledge, 
but it is essential that there should be a definite plan of a geographical 
survey as a whole, in order that the regional or distributional aspect 


REDISTRIBUTION OF MANKIND—DIOKSON. 569 


should never be lost sight of. I may venture to suggest that a com- 
mittee formed jointly by the great national geographical societies, 
or by the International Geographical Congress, might be intrusted 
with the work of formulating some such uniform plan and suggest- 
ing practicable methods of carrying it out. It should not be impossi- 
ble to secure international cooperation, for there is no need to investi- 
gate too closely the secrets of anyone’s particular private vineyard— 
it is merely a question of doing thoroughly and systematically what 
is already done in some regions, sometimes thoroughly, but not sys- 
tematically. We should thus arrive eventually at uniform methods 
of stock taking, and the actual operations could be carried on as 
opportunity offered and indifference or opposition was overcome by 
the increasing need for information. Eventually we shall find that 
“country planning” will become as important as town planning, but 
it will be a more complex business, and it will not be possible to get 
the facts together in a hurry. And in the meanwhile increased geo- 
graphical knowledge will yield scientific results of much significance 
about such matters as distribution of populations and industries, and 
the degree of adjustment to new conditions which occurs or is pos- 
sible in different regions and amongst different peoples. Primary 
surveys on the large scale are specially important in new regions, 
but the best methods of developing such areas and of adjusting dis- 
tributions in old areas to new economic conditions are to be dis- 
covered by extending the detailed surveys of small districts. An 
example of how this may be done has been given by Dr. Mill in his 
Fragment of the Geography of Sussex. Dr. Mill’s methods have been 
successfully applied by individual investigators to other districts, 
but a definitely organized system, marked out on a carefully ma- 
tured uniform plan, is necessary if the results are to be fully com- 
parable. The schools of geography in this country have already 
done a good deal of local geography of this type, and could give 
much valuable assistance if the work were organized beforehand on 
an adequate scale. 

; But in whatever way and on. whatever scale the work is done, it 
must be clearly understood that no partial study from the physical, 
or biological, or historical, or economic point of view will ever suffice. 
The urgent matters are questions of distribution upon the surface of 
the earth, and their elucidation is not the special business of the 
physicist, or the biologist, or the historian, or the economist, but of 
the geographer. 


ra gi | 0g a 

Beton aro histh ths. nearer | rai = St 
“2h sie. Bees: oe hia y faseiog, oaks Bak | 
Ae gion a7 anianitgar to. SQA ROE 
had. baa Hote, denna pater ...9 RETOLD 
ad Sa Teassicnl sf TOE ey} : i aor acgngd | ee i ae 
? paige? eieag ad. torr hing tii haw, eousiondaele hi 
sy wipe, epee Ipigereianeptubaer pete 


edt HUG oh al, 
[ae eboatiom. th 
Nepean Xap Sie vf 
fu ate pais duo: Ce 


stedac. en. towed ii esse 
hast ‘ai Jie RRS: Bivgee bias rc jones ake 
if. .9% Oe, fe i Her de bas tat 08 


ee 


ROR SE CIE ae eCeE 7 ae oe vei oe : ea ae 
jdinvivne Se. tee oS eee eee a eG oe 
Be RA De ee Wate i Bite ete C. 7 gad 
ACL ae tere hen vemeeeaee Anat! ts ee ie ja Beret * 


Bok, 4 See ks 


Srey Cae es Es aye ney * fe Se ee c. 


THE EARLIEST FORMS OF HUMAN HABITATION AND 
THEIR RELATION TO THE GENERAL DEVELOPMENT 
OF CIVILIZATION. 


By Prof. Dr. M. HoERNEs. 


According to a conception at present in vogue the main currents 
of human civilization have developed along certain simple lines, of 
which the starting point, the several halts, and the end can be readily 
learned. It is assumed that the different groups of mankind must 
present the same forms, in similar order, according to some sort of 
arbitrary law. Thus there have been mapped out for the history of 
economics, of implements, costumes, habitation, morals, law, and 
religion, certain strict and definite plans, which have been drawn more 
from a priori reasoning and a limited experience than from a wide 
knowledge of facts. These classifications, which may be readily 
replaced by other similar ones, had nevertheless the advantage, like 
all classifications, which are equally inexact, that they afforded for 
the progress of investigation a better basis than when the material 
is in disorder and fancy turned free. These classifications, however, 
were not altogether inexact, but were merely inadequate for general 
application so as to be extended to all parts of the globe and to all 
groups of mankind. When properly limited and used judiciously, 
they present every evidence of being parts or fragments of the truth 
to which, in order to make them complete. other fragments should be 
constantly added until the highest possible degree of knowledge is 
attained. 

As regards the history of human habitation, it is believed that at 
a certain period there was an age of caverns when man dwelt exclu- 
sively in the natural excavations of rocky regions. Later, when the 
earliest forms of buildings appeared, the circular structure was 
everywhere employed before those of quadrangular forms, wooden 
buildings before those of stone, etc. At the very dawn of evolution, 
man, it is thought, must have dwelt in hollow trunks of trees or in 
the tops of high trees. But we can make no positive assertions con- 
cerning that most remote stage of evolution. In all lines of evolution 
the beginning belongs to the domain of imagination; its suggestions 

1 Translated by permission from “ Scientia, International Review of Scientific Synthesis,” 
published by Messrs. Williams & Norgate, London, No. 3, 1911, pp. 94-104. 

. 571 


572 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


may be guided and defended, but as theories they can not be estab- 
lished with evidence by exact science. 

For the habit of dwelling in the tops of trees reference is made to 
the life of anthropoid apes. But the animal or semianimal ancestor 
of man did not descend from the tree in order to become a man. 
He dwelt on terra firma before his transformation into man, else 
he could not present such physical divergencies from the present 
anthropoid apes. It is true that we incidentally find certain savage 
peoples who still live in trees, but this kind of dwelling accords well 
with the building of huts. It constitutes chiefly a temporary safe 
asylum in times of danger, not a fixed residence. It is a secondary 
form of adaptation, the same as the pile dwellings. Man by origin 
is neither a climber, like the anthropoids, nor an aquatic animal, 
like the beaver, but he has learned to change the location of his home 
to increase his safety, either raising it upon high trees or trans- 
ferring it from terra firma to locations over the water according as 
circumstances or necessity may call for one or the other of these 
forms. But in either case he already had the hut complete and 
sought for it a new foundation so that he might, at will, connect 
himself with or separate himself from terra firma, in one case by 
means of a ladder, in the other by that of a bridge. In this case, 
therefore, there appears no primitive form of human habitation. 
And this applies with still greater reason to the dwelling in hollow 
trees, for from what we know about savage peoples of to-day trees 
never constitute permanent homes, but at the most are but a passing 
shelter. 

An analogous, if not identical, fact is pointed out in favor of 
troglodytism (cave dwelling). This might have been a primitive 
form of habitation, for nature has here united all the elements of a 
substantial and clean residence. There is a floor, roof, walls, often 
also interior divisions, covered vestibules, sunny terraces, sometimes 
also sheltered places hardly accessible in the rocky walls, passages 
running deep into the mountain and affording hiding places and 
refuges. Asa matter of fact, in rocky regions rich in caverns these 
advantages early became known and were abundantly utilized during 
long ages. But these do not exist everywhere, and for this reason 
alone we can not speak of an epoch when cave dwellings were general. 
Moreover, the earliest human hordes were certainly too unsteady and 
wandering to remain attached through the entire year to this natural 
immovable kind of shelters. Their habit of hunting big game would 
not permit them such a high degree of permanent settlement. Even 
to-day in studying certain very primitive hunting peoples, such as 
the Veddas of Ceylon, we find that they seek out the rocky parts of 
their hunting territory only during the rainy season when they may 
camp in the excavations and under shelter of the rocks. 


EARLIEST HUMAN HABITATIONS—-HOERNES. 573 


The choice of a dwelling place and of a form of building, in order 
to render it habitable, depends upon three factors of adaptation: (1) 
The nature of the ground, (2) the manner of living, and (3) the gen- 
eral state of civilization. These are the conditions to which every- 
where the location and the form of the habitation are submitted. 
This accounts for all geographical and historical divergencies. In 
the earliest times civilization was uncertain and of no importance, 
while the nature of the ground and the kind of life played a very 
great part. The first of those factors determines chiefly the form 
and the second fixes the location of the dwelling. Fishermen and 
shell-fish eaters, for instance, live during the entire year along the 
seashore, but the ichthyophags of Caramania (Asia Minor) and Ged- 
rosia (Beluchistan), as also the inhabitants of the Red Rocks of 
Menton (France) during the glacial period, were troglodytes (cave 
dwellers), while the Fuegians are obliged to build huts, just as cer- 
tain of the inhabitants of the seacoast of Denmark had done whose 
kitchen-middens have survived. In regions of forests and steppes 
troglodytism is limited by the mobility of game. 

Thus, eases, which might be considered as the only form of resi- 
dence of the peoples of western Europe at the end of the paleolithic 
period, have furnished interesting information on the construction 
of huts through the drawings recently discovered in many places. 
I refer to the curious sketches which were first found graven on the 
walls of the cavern of Combarelles, then, painted red, in the interior 
of the cavern of Font-de-Gaume in the Dordogne (France), and 
brought to light by Messieurs Capitan and Breuil. Soon after that 
similar drawings were found in other caves (graven, in Bernifal; 
painted red, in Marsoulas). These drawings are figures of dwellings, 
sometimes showing a substructure with a central pole, and occasion- 
ally also with props and girders on either side. The explorers of 
the French caverns express no doubt but that these figures are crude 
representations of primitive huts (“rudimentary images of huts,” 
Breuil), which obviously could not have been built inside the cav- 
erns and probably also not in their vicinity. In the cave of Mar- 
soulas, above the drawing of such a hut, there is line of dots, in which 
Breuil sees the representation of foliage to figure the roof. Less sig- 
nificant are the “ marks in form of huts” painted in the cavern of 
La Mouthe (Dordogne), Altamira and Castillo (North Spain) ; the 
drawing of these two caverns might be considered as images of 
interlaced bucklers. Equally uncertain are the “red dwelling fig- 
ures” of the cavern of Niaux (Briége). Somewhat doubtful is the 
meaning of the carvings on bone and reindeer antlers found in the 
region of the caverns. Only the drawings mentioned in the first 
place can be admitted as valid proofs in favor of the theory of the 
building of huts at the end of the paleolithic period. The figures 


574 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


of Combarelles often appear in parallel pairs, having between them 
the figure of an animal. In the cavern of Font-de-Gaume there are 
some of these drawings on the body of a bison, in the cavern of 
Bernifal there are two others on the body of a mammoth, while 
elsewhere the bodies of animals have represented upon them pro- 
jectile arms and human hands, or their outlines.* 

Thus, at the end of the paleolithic period the hunters of the clos- 
ing glacial age dwelt not only in caves but also in huts; in the latter 
probably during their long tours over the hunting territory, which 
took them far away from the region of the caverns and obliged them 
to construct artificial shelters. These were, as far as we can judge, 
in keeping with the state of civilization which was comparatively not 
at all a low one, as the excavations in the caverns frequently show. 
It is not known whether these huts rested upon an artificial base or 
directly upon the surface of the ground, for the drawings show 
only the exterior view. Both alternatives are possible, but the sec- 
ond is the more probable. It would be in keeping with the state of 
civilization, as also with the climatic conditions, that these primitive 
structures should be on a higher plane than the humblest beginnings 
of architecture, represented among the low hunting races of to-day, 
for instance, the screen dwellings (paravent) of the Negritos in the 
Philippine Islands or the summer shelters (¢oits d’été) of the 
Veddas of Ceylon. But they have in common with these rudi- 
mentary means of protection against wind and weather the quad- 
rangular form; for the screens and summer shelters of these Asiatic 
races consist of a quadrangular framework into which are inter- 
twined brushwood and foliage. These frames included oblique 
stakes to sustain the roof. The huts of the paleolithic hunters of 
western Europe had two parallel sides at the roof like those of the 
Seminoles of the south of North America. The sustaining poles 
were in the center. 

The nature of the floor was an important matter. On the draw- 
ings it is usually figured by squared tree trunks, and according to 
Matthews such is also the construction of the floor in the huts of the 
Seminoles,? while in the screens of the Negritos and shelters of the 
Veddas it is made of foliage and straw. The huts were the habita- 
tions of the men; the summer shelters, of the hunters; while the caves 
were the winter residences where the women, children, and old people 


1The cave-dwelling figures referred to are nearly all reproduced in the work of 
Cartailhac and Breuil, La Caverne d’Altamira, Monaco, 1906; Combarelles and Font de 
Gaume, p. 31, fig. 17; Bernifal, p. 24, fig. 11; Marsoulas, p. 30, fig. 16; Altamira, p. 63, 
figs. 46 and 47. Niaux: L’Anthropologie, vol. 19, 1908, p. 38, fig. 21. Castillo Alcalde del 
Rio, Pinturas y Grabadas, Table 9. Animals between the huts at Combarelles: Revue 
ad’ficole d’Anthropologie, vol. 12, 1902, p. 45, fig. 12. Huts on the body of an animal at 
Font de Gaume, ibid., Table 1, fig. 2. The same at Bernifal, ibid., vol. 13, 1903, p. 203. 

2 See also Cartailhac and Breuil, loc. cit., p. 163 (fig. 2 represents a Seminole hut with- 
out floor, after MacCauley). 


EARLIEST HUMAN HABITATIONS——HOERNES., 575 


lived the whole year round, probably also the shamans and their 
pupils, where the art of drawing was carried on and where also the 
dead were often interred. 

“Circular structures” do not appear to be represented. They cer- 
tainly constitute a very ancient, and in later historic times, an 
archaic form of construction. But when they are met with among 
people who are exclusively hunters it may be assumed that they have 
been borrowed from other spheres of civilization. Such are the 
foliage huts of the pigmy races of the virgin forests of equatorial 
Africa, described by Stanley and Stuhlmann; perhaps also the wood, 
stone, and snow huts of the Eskimos; in the West these Arctic peoples 
also inhabit quadrangular houses of boards, covered with earth. 
The circular form of construction has been considered as the oldest 
and much inferior to the quadrangular; this assumption, however, 
as has been seen, seems not to be absolutely correct. The circular 
form appeared spontaneously when a single vertical pole was used 
as a support, from the top of which the roof radiated out at equal 
distances, as in the conical skin tents of the prairie tribes of North 
America. It also finds ready use in semisubterranean structures, as 
in ancient Europe, North America, etc. As the primitive subter- 
ranean habitations are usually round, the walls, made of posts, 
foliage, and clay, are likewise circular, and the roof of straw, reeds, 
or similar materials, is conical. Such are those in ancient Europe, 
while in other parts of the world they are sometimes different, though 
still similar. This round hut, which in reality is merely a covered 
hearth, has an incredible power of persistence. Its history, in a 
word, is that of the oldest civilization, and yet it seems to have begun 
only with a rise in culture, and even then its superiority was early 
contested by the quadrangular form of construction. The huts or 
houses of the neolithic village of Grossgartach in Wurttemberg were 
quadrangular and these are obviously not the only ones, for all the 
houses of the lake dwellings of the neolithic and bronze ages on the 
lakes of the Alpine European countries were also of similar shape. 

Of the Hallstatt and la Téne periods there are extant in western 
and central Europe numerous remains of quadrangular structures; 
but by the side of these the circular building is never absent. In the 
region of Heilbrunn the quadrangular houses of Grossgartach were 
succeeded by the round huts of the bronze age, and these were again 
followed by quadrangular houses. Most of the dwellings of the pre- 
Roman period still show circular foundations of varied depth. In 
the trench of Gerichstetten, near Baden, which dates from la Téne 
period (second or first century B. C.), by the side of a deep well in 
the form of a funnel were found two quadrangular houses, one of 
which was made of posts and intertwined wickerwork, while the 
other rested on limestone sockets a meter high. 


576 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


Strabo described the round huts of the Gaulic Celts made in the 
form of cupolas of boards and wickerwork with high roofs; however, 
in their towns they had only quadrangular buildings which, at 
Bibracte, had no exact rectangular outline. The poor Germans of 
the towns at the time of Tacitus built rectangular houses of posts, 
the walls being formed of intertwinings filled out with painted clay; 
each house was surrounded by a wide, free space, “ut fons, ut campus, 
ut nemus placuit” (where a spring, a meadow, a grove pleased 
them). But alongside they also had subterranean rooms, probably 
round ones, covered with dung, which served as caves, as retreats, 
and during the severe colds as winter dwellings, and were difficult of 
discovery in case of a hostile attack. Proofs of the existence of these 
circular structures are legion; they have even continued in Europe 
to the present. But the quadrangular structure made its appearance 
so early that it can not be given a specified origin, for instance, a 
southern, as some claim (O. Montelius, S. Miiller).* 

On the other hand, certain archeologists have the contrary tendency, 
namely, to derive from the north of our continent for the south of 
Europe a specified form of quadrangular house, the “ Megaron type,” 
so termed from the poems of Homer as well as after the ruins of 
Troy, Tirynth, and Mycene. We shall confine ourselves to a brief 
discussion of this question only, for it is impossible to treat in an 
essay like the present, even rapidly and in a sketchy manner, such a 
vast subject as the oldest forms of building in all its aspects. But it 
may be worth while to show by an interesting example how at present 
an effort is made from various sides to put forth and consider as 
proofs certain affinities in the history of art and civilization, due to 
certain analogies and coincidences (in which the anthropologist would 
at a glance discern the results of convergent adaptations), ascribing 
them to ethnic or at least racial characteristics, while most frequently 
these hypotheses are the offspring of the deep wish of their authors. 

The Homeric and Mycenean “ Megaron” was a rectangular structure, 
originally consisting of one room, with a door on one of the narrow 


1 Grossgartach: A. Schliz, Das steinzeitliche Dorf, Stuttgart, 1901. Exclusively quad- 
rangular huts on piles: L. Schumacher, Untersuchung von Pfahlbauten des Bodensees, 
published in Veroeffentlichungen Badischer Sammlungen, II, 1889. Round huts of the 
bronze age at Heilbrunn: Schliz, Wiirttembergische Vierteljahrschrift ftir Landes- 
geschichte, W. F. XVII, 1908, p. 488. The quadrangular houses of the Halstatt period 
in the same region: Ibid, p. 489, and Mitteilungen der Anthropologischen Gesellschaft of 
Vienna, XXXIII, 1903, p. 811 (compare also Schliz, Fundbauten aus Schwaben, IX, 
1901, p. 21 seq., and XIII, 1905, pp. 30-57), also Soldan, Annalen des Vereins fiir 
Altertumkunde von Nassau, XXXI, 1900, p. 145 seq.; XXXII, 1902, B., pp. 35 and 59. 
Gerichtstetten Schumacher, Veréffentlichungen Badischer Sammlungen, II, 1899, pp. 
75-84. Round huts of the Gauls, Strabo, IV, 4, 3 (Cxsar mentions roofs of straw, 
Cesar, Gallic War, V, 43, 6; of wood and straw, Vitruvius, II, 1, 3); of the Germans; 
Tacitus, Germania, chapter 16. Quadrangular structures of the so-called European 
origin: O. Montelius, Archiv fiir Anthropologie, 1895, p. 548; S. Miiller, Urgeschichte 
Europas, p. 99. All these forms and the problems connected with them are more fully 
discussed in my Natur- und Urgeschichte des Menschen, Vienna, 1909, II, pp. 27-132. 


EARLIEST HUMAN HABITATIONS—HOERNES. TT 


sides. In front of the door was a small open vestibule which must 
have served to protect the entrance, as evidenced by a projecting roof. 
In the center of the principal chamber was the hearth, and above it, 
in the gabled roof, an opening to let out the smoke. The corners of 
this opening rested on posts which were placed around the hearth. 
In this simplest form it was the house of a small rural family, but it 
also constituted the seignorial house, in the citadels which were 
erected on the continent and surrounded with Cyclopean walls, in 
Argolis and Asia Minor, while the palaces of Crete show no trace 
whatever of this kind of structure. In the Hellenic period the 
Megaron’ type gave rise to the Greek temple, especially the temple 
with pilasters jutting out (Templum in antis). It appeared, also, as 
an element in the great buildings of Hellenistic times, as at Per- 
gamum and Priene. At least it could not suffice for the growing 
needs which a dwelling of a modern period had to satisfy. 

These are well-known facts. But they were employed to establish 
a prehistoric phase of the “ Megaron” type. Crete and the neighbor- 
ing Orient were left out of consideration because they presented 
nothing analogous; besides, this house with a hearth and a gable end 
suited a climate colder than that of Egypt or western Asia. R. 
Henning (Das deutsche Haus in seiner historischen Entwicklung, 
1882) found an affinity between the old German and old Greek 
houses, though so far he could refer for the Greek house to the 
templum in antis (the “ Megarons,” of Troy, etc., have not yet been 
discovered) and the Homeric description of the house of Odysseus 
and as northern analogies could only quote the Norwegian peasant 
houses of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries A. D. 

The resemblances of the houses of the North with the “ Megaron ” 
type are slight and belong to later periods, if not entirely to modern 
times. A house of the Viking period (800-1050 A. D.) at Augerum 
in Bleking, south Sweden, had around the hearth, which stood in the 
center, four posts supporting the open roof for the passage of the 
smoke. In front of the entrance two posts upheld the projecting 
roof. The plan of this building was not quadrangular, but oval, 
nearly round (Montelius, Kulturgeschichte Schwedens, p. 238, fig. 
451). The German house, discovered and described by C. Schuch- 
hardt (Prehistorische Zeitschrift, I, 1909, pp. 209 and 59) on the 
Roémerschanze at Potsdam, a trench which was in later times occu- 
pied by the Slavs, presented the greatest similarities to the 
“Megaron,” but the date of that house, which consisted of a frame of 
wickerwork, filled out with earth, is doubtful; it dates, at the earliest, 
from the beginning of the Christian era. There is, then, no basis for 
calling the Megaron type the building form of “ German antiquity ” 
or, as Henning does, “The antique Aryan form.” It is probable that 


44863 °—sm 19183——3 


578 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


there was not one common typical form of “ German antiquity ” 

of the “ primitive Aryans,” but several forms which were not marked 
by national or ethnic characteristics, but merely presented diverse 
forms of adaptation to the ground, the climate, the economic condi- 
tions, etc.; of these the Megaron type appeared very early in south- 
ern Europe and Asia Minor; in Troy of Hissarlik as early as the 
third century B. C., while in northern and central Europe much 
later—not before the beginning of our era. More than this at pres- 
ent can not be asserted. The connection assumed by Schuchhardt 
and others may hold good, but it can not yet be demonstrated, and 
we should rather search for another origin for the Megaron type 
than north Germany or Scandinavia. 

There is no lack in other parts of the world of similarities with 
the Megaron form of construction, which are not inferior to the house 
of the age of the Vikings of Augerum. The Mandans of North 
America had round houses, raised upon a slight excavation, with a 
central hearth surrounded by posts, and letting out the smoke through 
an opening in the roof. There again the door had a horizontal pro- 
jecting roof supported by pillars. The neighboring races of the 
Missouri adopted this type of house. 

The opening in the roof resting on posts above the hearth is also 
found elsewhere in North America, in the Hinterland of the North- 
west, and even serves as an entrance into the subterranean house. 
This is merely to show that similar forms may be met with every- 
where under certain conditions, and no attempt is made to establish 
any relation whatever between the Old and the New World. Accord- 
ing to the results of excavations in Beeotia and Thessaly, the evolu- 
tion of the habitation in northern Greece advanced from the round 
hut to the oblong quadrangular construction through the interme- 
diary of the oval. At Orchomenes the neolithic huts were round, 
those of the second century, B. C., elliptic, while those of the middle 
of the same century were rectangular. But in southern Thessaly 
there were already in the neolithic age houses similar to the “ Mega- 
ron.”! It is probable that the Megaron type developed spontaneously 
in northern Greece as analogous forms did in other regions near and 
distant. Its characteristic elements—opening in the roof and the 
penthouse—may have already appeared in the circular form, as is 
shown by the instance of the Mandans. 

1The house of Mandares (according to Morgan) in W. Krickeberg, Illustrierte V6Ik- 
erkunde, edited by G. Buschan, p. 34, fig. 4. Orchomenes: Bulle. Abhandlungen der 


Bayrischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Philosophisch-historische Klasse, 1907, XXIV, 
2. Megaron of Northern Thessaly: Tsuntas, Athens, 1908. 


FEUDALISM IN PERSIA: ITS ORIGIN, DEVELOPMENT, 
AND PRESENT CONDITION.! 


By JACQUES DE MorGAN, Paris. 


The Iranian plateau is one of the very few countries of the world 
of which we can with authority affirm that we know its first inhabi- 
tants. We know that in glacial times it was inaccessible,* and even 
after the melting of the snow which covered it throughout the Pleisto- 
cene period it still remained barren * during many centuries, perhaps 
for even thousands of years. When the tribes of Medes came there 
they probably trod on virgin soil. 

We include among the Medes those hordes which, taking the lead 
in the Iranian‘ movement, first of all invaded Hyrcania, crossed the 
low plain south of the Caspian Sea, occupied the mountains of El- 
burz, and advanced on the Persian plain as far as the region where 
the cities of Kashan, Hamadan, and Kermanshah now stand. 

When the tide of invaders reached the mountains of Kurdistan it 
encountered some peoples who, come probably in early times from 
the valley of the Tigris or the north of western Asia,> settled in 
the valleys; they retreated before the invasion and spread out toward 
the west. Perhaps in this movement of peoples we might see the 
origin of the Cassite dynasty of Babylonia,’ whose founder Gandish 
or Gaddash ruled from about 1761 to 1746 B. C.7 

But the invasion of the Medes was not stopped there; to the north, 
Armenia, all of the upper Tigris and the upper Euphrates Valleys 
were successively occupied, and the Iranian bands penetrated into 
Asia Minor and as far as Oronte,’ the homes of the Hittites.® 

1Translated by permission from the Revue d’Ethnographie et de Sociologie, A. Van 
Gennep, Editor, Paris, vol. 3, Nos. 5-8, May—August, 1912, pp. 169-190. 

2J. de Morgan, Le Plateau iranien pendant l'époque Pléistocene, in Rey. Bcole 
d’Anthrop. de Paris, June 6, 1907, pp. 213-226. 

% J. de Morgan, Les Premiéres Civilisations, 1909, p. 181. 

‘Throughout this article we consider peoples from the standpoint of their linguistic 
characteristics only. 

> J. de Morgan, Prem. Civ., 1909, p. 175 sq. 

6 A first invasion of Cassites in the nineteenth year of Samsilouna (about 1900 B. C.) 
had been hurled back. Cf. Dhorme, Les Aryens avant Cyrus, in Conf. St. Etienne, 
1910-11, p. 73. 

7 Cf. Thureau-Dangin, Journ. Asiat., 1908, p. 117. 


® Cf. Dhorme, op. cit., p. 70. 
® Cf. Dhorme, op. cit., p. 61, and Winckler, Orient. litt. Zeitung, 1910, col. 291. 


d79 


580 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


While the movement of the Medes was executed in the north, an- 
other branch of the Aryan group, the Persians, advanced toward 
the southeast and south and occupied the countries near the Persian 
Gulf and Persia proper.’ 

Since that period, that is, since about 4000 B. C., the nature of the 
population of Persia has been modified? only in Media, the invasion 
of which by the Turks, only a thousand years ago, drove back the 
ancient inhabitants on their congeners in the mountains of Kurdistan.* 

From the twentieth century before our era western Asia has thus 
been shared by two very distinct elements, the old races, Semitic and 
aborigines (Elamites, Hittites, Caucasians, etc.) in the west, and the 
newcomers of the Aryan group in the north and east.* 

Among these two elements the principles of government show some 
decided differences. While in the Semitic country feudalism was 
based on absolute obedience to suzerain and entire ownership by the 
inaster, among the Aryans the same system of government rested on 
the great vassals or companions of the supreme chief.* This nobility 
included the younger branches of the royal family and the principal 
chiefs of tribes which had taken part in the conquest. It constituted 
a sort of council which governed with the sovereign.* The seigniors 
themselves in their provincial governments surrounded themselves 
with their principal subordinates, descendants of those who had 
served under their ancestors at the time of the invasion. 

After the conquest each of the chief vassals was granted or re- 
ceived a territory proportionate to the importance of his tribe, and 
the same was done for each of the clans, then for the families. Thus 
a kind of complete hierarchy was established from the owner of a 
village or a group of tents up to the supreme master. 

The empire belonged primarily to the Medes; probably because 
they were the most numerous and the first comers. But their forces 
being spread all the way from Parthia to the borders of Oronte, the 
Persians, whose forces were more concentrated, snatched away their 
supremacy. This revolution was otherwise of no consequence from 
the point of view of social organization. Cyrus governed as king of 


1 Provinces of Seistan, Kerman, Shiraz, Ispahan, bordering the mountains north of the 
Gulf of Persia as far as Susiana. 

2 We do not intend to speak of the sporadic peoples, Jews, Chaldeans, Arabs, Afghans, 
Hindus. 

3 Some authors are of the opinion that the Cassites were Aryans. (Cf. Dhorme, op. cit., 
p. 66 sq.) In that case they would have preceded the Medes and Persians in Ivan and 
represent the first human wave that traversed the Persian Plateau. 

4%n the Aryan group we include peoples speaking languages related to the Sanskrit, 
Greek, Latin, Germanic, Persian, etc. 

5 The same traditions are found among ali the Aryan peoples who later invaded Burope, 
the Germans among others. 

€Proofs of the existence of this council of nobles are numerous in the history of 
Persia; but it is very interesting to find the same constitution among the Harri, an 
Aryan caste which, about the epoch of Rameses II, governed the country of the Mitanni. 
Cf. Dhorme, op. cit., p. 67. 


FEUDALISM IN PERSIA—-DE MORGAN. 581 


the Persians and Medes, while his ancestors had been ruled by the 
king of the Medes and Persians. The chief men of the realms kept 
their estates and their rank, and, according as they were either of 
Persian or Medic origin, they continued to compose the royal council. 
It is true that at first they were less favored in what concerned im- 
portant affairs, but little by little equilibrium was established and the 
Persians and Medes became a single nation. 

The Achemenian sovereigns divided their empire among satraps, 
for the most part hereditary proprietors of the land, whom it would 
be a great injury to have as governors, in the sense given to that 
title in our day. The seigniors of less importance conserved their 
rights, their privileges, their lands, as well as the moral situation 
they had in the State. This aristocracy was a curb on the royal 
power; the kings dreaded it and willingly or by force governed 
under it. 

To be sure, in times of trouble or revolt many members of this 
nobility, both great and humble, would be losers; but these rigor- 
ous measures applied only to individuals and the principles were not 
in the least broken. As a result of traditional influence, where a 
king could be found to preserve it, the feudal organization was much 
more favored than opposed by the Achemenide. Moreover, feudal- 
ism insured great security through the loyalty of subjects of the 
empire. 

The Macedonian Conquest brought the first great change which 
still survives in the political and social life of Persia. The Greeks 
must have a governor for themselves if they would preserve the 
empire. Nearly all of the great satraps, Greeks or natives, were 
appointed according to the governmental views of the conqueror 
and his followers. Macedonian garrisons occupied the principal 
cities to maintain the obedience of the inhabitants, to lend a strong 
hand to the governors, and at the same time to watch their conduct. 
The Persians who under Alexander performed the duties of satraps 
were no more than officials, obedient to higher powers. As to the 
common aristocracy, it felt this change in power in a much less 
degree, for its privileges were continued, its property remained in 
its possession, and perhaps its local influence was even increased by 
the debasement of the chief seigniors. 

The defeat of Darius Codomanus brought to the high Iranian 
nobility the loss of its army, which was the chief source of its riches 
and of its credit. After Alexander, the principal officers were Greeks, 
commanding the troops of their nations, and if at times certain 
Persian nobles served in the Macedonian army it was only at the 
head of native troops, and consequently without much authority. 


1 See in this connection the inscription of Darius at Bisoutoun. 


582 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


Most of the officers of the Achzemenian army retired to their lands, 
hoping to see the happy fortune of yesterday return. 

The political policy of the Seleucid followed in all respects that 
of Alexander; nevertheless, the military power of these kings, no 
longer having the energy of the conquest, and the Macedonian forces 
available for an invasion being insufficient in number for continued 
control by force of arms, the seigniors of the times of the Achwmen- 
ide again took the lead and endeavored to regain their independ- 
ence. Revolts became frequent in the provinces, incursions on the 
frontiers multiplied. There then arose, exclusive of Bactria, a con- 
siderable number of small realms, such as that of the Arsacide,! 
Scythian chiefs who had established themselves in the Seleucid 
province of Parthia,? such as that of Perside,? where the priestly 
character of the princes constrained the kings of Syria in some re- 
spects, and numerous small principalities, of which even the names 
are lost or hardly preserved in history. This was the awakening of 
national feudalism, and this feudalism seems to have become of more 
importance than ever when there suddenly occurred the conquest of 
Persia by the Parthians. 

The Parthians were Scythian nomads, in ancient times tenting in 
the valley of the Ochus, a river of the Oxus Basin. About 250 B. C. 
they crossed the Seleucid frontier, entered the province of Parthia, 
and established * themselves there, retaining all of it, with the city of 
Dara,’ as the seat of their government, the capital of their ancient 
patrimony. In this way they founded a small State, which for about ® 
a century wrestled for its independence and increased its power some- 
what.’ Finally, Mithridates I succeeded not only in pushing back the 
Greek troops who had attempted to crush his rising power, but in a 
few years he took possession of entire Persia, some Bactrian prov- 
inces, and at the end of his reign minted money,’ even in Syria, whose 
King, Demetrius Nictator, was his prisoner in Hyrcania.®? A new 
empire was founded, itself based on feudalism such as was in 
force among the Scythian nomads. The seigniors of the new stock 


1This name is of Persian and not Scythian origin; for we know that Darius II 
Ochus (405-359 B. C.) carried the name of Arsace before taking the throne. Cf. 
BEd. Dronin, Onamastique Arsacide. 

2The name Parthia already existed at the time of the Achwmenide (Herodotus, VII, 
96). It was therefore not the Parthians who had given it to him. They had taken it 
after the conquest of that province. 

2Cf, Col, Allotte de la Fuye, Corolla Numismatica, 1906; Etude sur la Numismatique 
de la Perside, London, 1906. A memoir in which there is a complete bibliography con- 
cerning sources of history of Perside. 

Justin, XLI, 4; Strabo, XI, ix, 2. 

BOT. Olshausen, Parthava und Pahlay, Berlin, 1877, p. “10, seq. 

® From 250 to about 170 B. C. The first princes were: Arsace I (250-248), Tridate I 
(248-211), Arsace II (211-191), Phriapatius (191-176), and Phraate I (176-171 B. C.). 

™Hyrceania (Province of Astrabad) and some territories in Media, at most as far as 
Ragae. 

8 Cf. W. Wroth, Catalogue of British Museum, Arsacides, pl. 3, figs. 7-12. 

Justin; SSVI; 1. 


FEUDALISM IN PERSIA—-DE MORGAN. 583 


revived some appanages. One King, Bacasis, probably of the Par- 
thian race, imposed a tax on the Medes, and the old aristocracy 
was humbled by the new, the princes of Perside among others.t. It 
was at about this time that were founded the principalities of 
Characéne? and Elymaide,* as well as the Kingdom of Armenia,* 
which later was the cause of all the wars between the Romans and the 
Persians. 

Elymaide and Characéne had become dependent provinces of the 
empire, but kept the right to mint money,’ a privilege of which only 
traces are found in these principalities and which Mithridates prob- 
ably tolerated only because of its immediate neighborhood to Syria 
and the services that the dynasties of these countries had been able to 
render to his cause during the conflicts between Persia and the 
Seleucide. 

But this changing of government did not modify the deep-seated 
composition of society. To the old great feudatories were joined the 
new, and the lesser seigniors became possessors of their lands, passing 
only from the authority of Greek governors to that of the new- 
comers. The Parthians were not concerned in feudalism as a whole 
for that mode of government was already in accord with their tradi- 
tions.° 

In Elymaide, under the reign of the great king Osroé,’ the ancient 
dynasty of the Kamnaskirés made place for the new princes all car- 
rying Arsacid names,® dynasties which, like those of Characéne,® 
could no longer from the beginning of this epoch coin money with 
the portrait of their ruler, the King of Kings,!° though bearing their 
name in the legend. It was feudalism which started the upheaval 
that overthrew the Arsacid dynasty. A prince of Perside, Ar- 
taxerxes, son of Papek,!! profiting by the instability of the throne of 


i Strabo, Liv. XV, ch. 3, 23. The first period of Persian numismatic autonomy com- 
mences about 220 B. C., and stops at about the epoch of the rise of the power of the 
Arsacide. 

2 Hypsaosines (about 124 B. C.) was the first prince of Characéne of whom we have 
medals. He was doubtless the founder of his dynasty and the restorer of the city of 
Charax. Cf. Lucien, Macrobii XVI. 

’ The earliest medal that we know of Elymaide is a tertadrachm of Kamnaskires (I?) 
struck about 160 B. C., under the reign of Antiochus IV or of Demetrius I of Syria. 

“Mithridates I had given the crown of Armenia to his son Valarsace. Cf. Moise de 
Khoresie, Langlois Translation, II, 3-7. 

'Cf. E. Babelon, Sur la numismatique et la chronologie de Characéne, in Journ. 
@archéol. et de numismatique; Athens, 1848, I, pp. 381-404. Col. Allotte de la Fuye, 
Sur la numismatique de l’Elymaide dans Mém. Deleg. en Perse, 1905, Rey. numism., 
1902, La Dynastie des Kamnaskirés. 

8 Toward the end of the dynasty the Parthian nobility called Vononés II to the 
throne, when that prince was viceroy of Media, and incited Méherdatés to revolt against 
Gotarzes, which brought Cinnamus to the throne, which recalled Artaban III, after 
having dethroned him, ete. 

7J. de Morgan, Numismatique de la Perse antique, a work in preparation. 

§ Col. Allotte de la Fuye, op. cit., 1905. 

* Cf. Ed. Dronin, Journ. Asiat., June, 1889, ed., Rev. num., 1883, 2d quarter, p. 373 seq. 

10 J. de Morgan, Num. Perse antique, in preparation. 

4 Cf, von Gudschmidt, Zeitschr. d, Deut. Gesell., 34, 734. 


584 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


Persia,’ restored the power and the religion? of the people of the 
Tranian race. From that time the Parthian nobility was humbled 
in its turn, and that of ancient times again acquired all its preroga- 
tives. The Arsacides and their congeners disappeared, some took 
refuge in Armenia,’ in Georgia,t among the Aghuanks,® and 
in other countries where some princes of their family® still reigned. 
As to the majority of the Parthian tribe, it became absorbed in the 
Iranian mass and left no traces. 

The Persian seigniors were, one after another, called to the highest 
duties of the State; they reconstituted the council of nobles, who, in 
many instances, attained the throne. All the satraps, all the high 
officials, were Persians, and the principalities, reduced to obedience, 
ceased to issue money. In this restoration of the Iranian power the 
Sassanian sovereigns were encouraged by Archemedian traditions. 

The Arab invasion followed, which modified only the religion, 
having no effect on other institutions of the country. The Persians 
became Mussulmans without making any great resistance. The Ule- 
mas were substituted for the Mazdean priests, and among the seig- 
niors hereditary rights were transmitted as in the past, while some 
of the important feudatories of old set up their principalities in the 
realm. The Ispehbeds of Thabéristaén (Mazanderan) coined money 
of the type of Chrosoés IT but with Mussulman legends.” 

The only effect of the invasion of the Turks in the north of Persia 
was to drive out the Iranians who dwelt there and to substitute the 
régime of the Begs for that of the Khans and the Aghas; but it 
affected only the open regions in the northern territories, the moun- 
tain country remaining Iranian. The south and the center of Persia 


1 At the close of the reign of Mithridates IV, numerous competitors for the throne arose 
in all the Provinces of the Arsacide, of which the power, greatly weakened by their wars 
against the Romans and against the barbarian peoples of the east, became diminished 
from day to day. 

2The Mazdean religion was preserved pure throughout the principality of Perside 
whence came the Sassanian dynasty. 

The Arsacid dynasty of Armenia, notwithstanding its numerous quarrels with Rome, 
succeeded in maintaining itself for a long time after the fall of the Arsacide in Persia. 
Cf. Moise de Khorém, Patkanian (Hist. de l’Arménie), ete. 

«Transcaucasia was then divided into a great number of small States, which in turn 
passed to the Romans and the Parthians; an Arsacid branch had been established in 
Georgia. 

5 Cf. Patkanian, Hist. armen. 

® One Arsacid branch ruled over the Kouchans and the Thetals (Bactria and Caboul), 
another over the Massagetes and the Ephina (Lepones of Tacitus), to the north of 
Caucasus; the Kingdom of Sacasténe and of the Indus appear also to have been founded 
by a branch of the Arsacid family. 

7These princes ruled at Thabéristan (country of hatchets, otherwise called wood- 
choppers), forest region of Mazanderan situated between the plain of Ashraf and the 
district of Tunékaéboun, comprising the cities of Barfrush, Sari, and Amol, and limited 
to the south by the mountains of Elburz. This principality had completely disappeared in 
the Middle Ages and to-day there remains scarcely the memory of it in the country that 
included it. 

8 All Mazanderan, Ghilan, and Talish remained in the possession of peoples speaking 
Iranian dialects. Cf. J. de Morgan, Mission scientif. en Perse, 1889-1891, V® partie. 
tudes linguistiques. 


FEUDALISM IN PERSIA—DE MORGAN. 585 


remained unchanged and preserved the feudal traditions under which 
the national kings were trusted, like their predecessors, with the 
throne. 

Finally, there followed the dynasty of the Turkish Khadjars,1 
who exploited the country but did not govern it. In all districts 
adjacent to the principal centers,” in those where it was easy to oper- 
ate with armies, the old nobility disappeared little by little, ruined, 
dispossessed, deprived of important duties; but in all the remote 
provinces, in the mountains where the Turkomans dared not ven- 
ture, the Aghas, the Khans, and the Vahlis preserved their absolute 
power at the expense of an annual tribute which they paid to the 
Crown. 

Moreover, the governments of the provinces being sold at auction, 
it was among the landed property holders, among the Khadjar® 
princes and the high Turkoman dignitaries, among those, who in the 
eyes of the King, offered the highest guarantees, that the administra- 
tion of the provinces was distributed, and often the seigniors of old 
extraction bought the government of their own dependencies in order 
to safeguard the interests of their families. In this case they left 
all their serfs in the dependency, decorating them merely with 
pompous titles pertaining to their new duties. 

In that case, on the contrary, where the new governor owned no 
lands of which he had purchased the government, he attached to 
his suite certain clients* drawn from his particular domains and, in 
consideration of an annual rent and some gifts, granted them all 
the expenses of the Province, allowing to each according to the face 
value it offered. Very often the purchase of the same government 
was made by a joint company of all these officials. It mattered little 
whether the several members of the company had the requisite 
abilities for filling their offices; each district was given its vice gov- 
ernor, each group of villages its chief, and everyone was located 
with his own clients living on the country and squeezing it for all 
it was worth. The demands generally exceeded reasonable limits. 
Then the governor was changed, his followers retiring with him, 


1The Khadjars abandoned the old capital Ispahan and founded a new one at Teheran, 
near the site of ancient Ragae in order to be in the midst of the land formerly con- 
quered by the Turks and to be near Turkomania from which in case of need they could 
quickly bring some tribes. 

?The Turkoman tribe of Khadjars lived at Ak Kala (white fort) on the river Kara Su 
(black water), some little way to the north of the city of Astrabad on the Turkoman 
steppe. Exempt from taxes and loaded with favors, since the throne belonged to one of 
their number, this tribe lived in idleness. 

®The Khadjar princes increased greatly in Persia, Fath-’Ali Shah had more than a 
hundred sons who nearly all had descendants. 

*The civil household of a governor was composed of a hundred persons more or less, 
without counting the servants, ministers, chaplains, doctors, secretaries, vice governors, 
chiefs of police, treasurers, etc. In a military household it was more numerous still. 
None of these functionaries were paid, but on the contrary, it was a temporary expense 
to him who accepted the position. 


586 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


and a new official came accompanied as before by a great number 
of satellites and inspired by the same thought of grasping as much as 
possible. 

Tt was in this way that feudalism in these Provinces was little by 
little crushed out, and though some of its privileges remained, it 
was only by tolerance on the part of the court whose interest it was 
to have always at hand some persons responsible and able to pay 
according to the needs or fancies of any of the officials of the pro- 
vincial government. 

These seigniors, through fear of losing their lands,! crushed the 
people to satisfy their high position. Their only authority was that 
which remained over their slaves. All carried high sounding but 
otherwise empty titles, such “the saber of the law, the sword of 
empires, the eye of justice, the backbone of power,” etc. They were 
marshals, generals, colonels,? with no duties, as was well known, 
watching the sum poured out to the King of Kings in order to re- 
ceive like honors, the only advantage of which was to give them a 
favored place at court, some slight protection against exactions, and 
the hope that there might come to them a day when they might like- 
wise purchase a government or some authority permitting them to 
replenish their purses and act before others as others had acted before 
them. 

Such was the condition of the nobility in the royal Provinces for 
20 years. But it was far from true that all the Provinces thus will- 
ingly obeyed the wishes of the officials named by Teheran. Prac- 
tically, the compass of many of the Provinces was limited to the 
principal place included in its jurisdiction, while the rest of the 
Province remained as before, under the authority of seigniors, obedi- 
ent somewhat less to the royal officials as they were farther from the 
large cities, and as their land was more inaccessible. 

These Vahlis, Khans, Begs, and Aghas* were veritable kings in 
their domains; they succeeded one another from father to son, re- 
ceiving only as a matter of form the investiture of Teheran. They 
preserved an absolute freedom through presents sent at opportune 
times; the richest were offered the very highest guarantee, that of 
marrying, in consideration of a very great sum, one of the numerous 
daughters of the king. 

1Fach village had its responsible chief and besides this chief the “ white beards” 
(Rich séfid) ; above was the proprietor of the land, the Khan who often owned many 
villages. The land was sold only with the houses built thereon and the people dwelling 
on it. They estimated the value not according to the area of lands under cultivation, 
but according to the number of houses, each house being estimated at five persons. It 
was the same with the nomad tribes who estimated only by the number of tents. 

2In the single village of Tauris there were in 1890 more than 3,000 persons bearing 
the title of general or higher officer. 


8 See the work on Kurd feudalism in the Middle Ages by Chéref Nimeh, translated by 
D, Charmoy. 


FEUDALISM IN PERSIA—DE MORGAN. 587 


The power of these princes was unlimited and they could put to 
death those of their subjects (rayats)! who had had the misfortune 
to displease them. Their friends and feudatories were their offi- 
cials, their functionaries whom they otherwise designated as “ do- 
mestic,” but who, in fact, composed their council. They never exer- 
cised the powers thus granted with cruelty or injustice. Their posi- 
tion itself depended on their ruling properly, since their feudatories 
were always ready to depose them, just as, under the Sassanians, 
the nobility drove the native rulers from the throne. 

The peasants poured into dependencies ruled with justice? and 
the wealth of the chief as well as his military power was appreciably 
increased when the rayats themselves quit the territories or ruled 
unjustly or arbitrarily. Wealth in Persia does not depend on the 
ownership of land, but solely on the power to control labor to 
cultivate it. 

Among these tribes there are some customs which, although not 
written, have no less the force of law, and it is often by these 
common laws, the antiquity of which goes back to the early period 
of the Iranian invasion, that cases are judged. The Koran is 
faithfully consulted, but its text, always very elastic, has not been 
interpreted in the same spirit which always has ruled among the 
nomads; thus it lends itself with extreme complacency to the appli- 
eation of old Persian customs. 

The sovereigns* who have reigned at Ispahan, those of Iranian 
blood, far from seeking to crush the nobility, have made of it a 
governmental instrument of the first order. Likewise, resting on 
their feudatories and on the townsmen of cities with whom the un- 
derstanding has been extremely frank, they have made Persia the 
richest and most powerful country of all the Orient. The wisdom 
and the regard for traditions which ruled at their court and which, 
under the Achemenide and the Sassanians, had raised so high the 


1The rayat is rather a serf than a peasant in the meaning that we give to the latter 
class. The rayat, however, has over the serf the great advantage that he can quit the 
land without permission of his master and establish himself elsewhere. This privilege 
protects him from too severe exactions. 

*JI have seen some clans, where the chief was esteemed as a just man, increase in 
four or five years from 10 to 300 tents, and frequently also the reverse appeared. 

‘The Kings of Persia carry even to-day the title of shahan-shah “king of kings,” 
a title essentially feudal. Under the Sassanians, the title was written in the Semitic 
language, Malkin Malka, which could perhaps be read shahan-shah; under the Parthians 
they wrote it in Greek, Basiléos Basilé0n, Under the Achemenide, Khshayathiya 
Khshayathiyanan, whence comes the actual pronounciation, and the Achemenide had 
borrowed from the Assyrians sar raba “great king,” sar martat ‘king of nations,” 
sar sa nabhar matat “king of all nations,” sar sarri “king of kings.” The Persians 
to-day have difficulty in explaining this title. To the credulous natives, they say that 
the sovereign is in reality the king of other kings, that in the world nothing is done 
without order. With foreigners their pretentions are less great. They are content to 
say that the name has fallen into desuetude, not taking any account of the fact that the 
King of Persia is still effectively king of a great number of seigniors and that his title 
is that which fits him the best. 


588 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


honor of their country, had enabled them to organize Persia in ac- 
cord with the spirit of its people, to enrich it and make it powerful 
in the eyes of foreigners. 

But the Turkoman dynasty, on coming to the throne, broke with 
the old institutions, not through politics but through cupidity. In- 
stead of trusting to feudalism it combated it because of its wealth, 
forcibly destroyed it wherever possible to enforce its power, replac- 
ing that system in the government of its new subjects by a hier- 
archy of tyrants preoccupied altogether with enriching themselves 
and with responding to the demands of its masters at Teheran. 

All the wealth of the country was little by little absorbed by the 
King and his followers, by his harem, by his ruinous fancies. They 
lost in Persia the idea of administration, and little by little the 
thirst of robbers gained the entire country. There was no longer 
justice, because from top to bottom of the social scale the aim pur- 
sued was unjust. No longer were there works of public utility, 
which had been the glory of the reign of Shah Abbas. No longer 
was there an army, or police, for the palace of the King absorbed 
all the resources, and extortions, as well as the sale of valuable 
privileges for ready money, caused a general impoverishment of 
the country. The royal treasury, called the reserve of the Khadjars, 
was emptied, and nothing was left but the name—the jewels and 
the silver plate were sold, debts were incurred to pay dancers and 
astrologers, to maintain the 3,000 people of the harem, and to treat 
themselves royally in Europe as well as at home. In this way, in 
about a hundred years, there passed away an Empire which had 
merited respect for centuries. 

But though the Khadjars’ succeeded in reversing the old order of 
things in all those parts of their empire which they could directly 
control, they made hardly any encroachment among the mountain- 
eers and in regions far from their capital. Feudalism there sur- 
vives in its full force. In Turkomania the tribes still live as in 
the time of Djenghis Khan and of Timour Leng, and their Beys’ 
are absolute masters in their tribes. It is the same among the Aghas 
in certain parts of Kurdistan, among the Khans in Luristan, among 
the Vahlis in Pusht-i-Kuh, in the country of the Bakhtiyari, and 
farther still toward the east. 

These are the same Bakhtiyari, seigniors of the old Iranian stock, 
who seek to overthrow the absolute power of the Shahan-Shah, 
renewing after an interval of 17 centuries, under a new form which 
probably, alas, will be less fortunate, the revolution which Artax- 
erxes I, son of Papek, the Sassanian, carried on in Persia. 

A fan of the Empire, if not the half of the habitable country, 
has always submitted to feudal rule, and entire Persia is still imbued 


1In Turkestan, Bai; in Azerbijan and Transcaucasia, Beg; amoug the Osmanlis, Bey. 


FEUDALISM IN PERSIA—-DE MORGAN. 589 


with the principle of feudalism, with respect for a hierarchy which 
has been in force for a thousand years. 

Among the seigniors whose power has been preserved safe and 
sound there are those who never mention the name of the King, 
who wait not for his approval to transmit the power from father to 
son, who for centuries have not turned into the treasury any tribute 
whatever. When these and their rayats express themselves con- 
cerning their Government there is heard nothing but maledictions. 

Since 1889, when I first set foot on the soil of Persia, I have lived 
much among the nomads and in the military camps. Some reminders 
of my sojourns among these primitive people will have, I think, 
some interest. From an ethnographic and sociologic standpoint the 
story you are about to read gives an accurate account of the situation 
in which the latest great seigniors of Persia live. I will not at- 
tempt to describe these old dependencies or enter into all the details 
of the life of the inhabitants, but desire only briefly to show what 
their system of life is—what are their ambitions and occupations. 

When, after long end tedious halts on the dusty and stony roads 
of the Persian plateau, you emerge from the defiles of Elburz to 
approach Astrabad, you see in the distance an immense plain, end- 
ing at the horizon in a blue line seeming to follow that of the 
Caspian Sea, which bounds the view on the left. This plain begins 
at the foot of some hills forming the final spurs of the great range. 
It seems to reach to infinity. Smooth, without the least wrinkle, 
of a uniform green color, it surprises by its immensity. Here and 
there, however, isles rise in this ocean of verdure, some knolls scarcely 
perceptible in the distance and lost in the hazy bluish color of the 
horizon. ‘Then, with field glasses, you distinguish some small gray 
points, sometimes grouped, sometimes isolated, now and then joined 
like the windings of a great serpent. Looking closely you see the 
land disappear from view, always alike toward the north, and you 
understand why the ancient geographers considered these imper- 
ceptible limits as the end of the habitable world. 

This plain is the steppe; these mounds are the vast ruins calcined 
by the burning of the great cities of antiquity; these grayish points 
show the unknown villages grouped by tribes or fixed on the borders 
of some watercourses which, sprinkling this immense carpet of 
verdure, flow out in a thousand recesses, slowly, in harmony with 
the majesty of the region that they traverse. This blue line of the 
horizon is the Empire of the Tsar. 

Still advancing, you descend some low hills covered with bushes; 
then all at once the land becomes level and the steppe begins, covered 
with short grass, without a pebble, without a hillock, to break the 
monotony of this perfect level. 


590 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


To the right and left are some small circular knolls, some decimeters 
at least in height, encircled by a ring about 6 feet in diameter, from 
which the ground appears to have been dug out in former times. 
You seem to see traces of child’s play. These are Turkoman graves. 
Little by little the rains have effaced the small tumulus and filled the 
circular pit whence was taken out the earth of the hillock. These 
graves, scattered without order on this immense plain, mark the place 
where died those whose bleached bones rest some feet underground, 
near some encampment where the tribe then lived. Then, the de- 
mand for troops calling them elsewhere, the camp was left, and no 
one since then has stopped near these tombs. From the day when 
the earth received them, these beings have been forgotten forever. 

We pass on, and the journey is continued with no signs of path 
or road, for the steppe has none; but we are guided on the march by 
the sun. Night falls, and the stars replace the sun to indicate the 
course, 

Finally, at a little distance, some beams of light are seen and sud- 
denly a pack of hounds come bounding forth. The guardians of 
the village are warned of our approach. 

The village, otherwise of very little importance, has about 30 
kibitkas, or circular tents, 5 to 8 meters in diameter, surrounded by 
a latticed wall made of reeds, skillfully tied together and covered 
with a thick felt in the form of a dome. The men, seated there 
smoking the tchibong, are capped with enormous hats of sheepskin, 
dressed in a dark blue cotton cloth, sordid and covered with grease, 
smelling of sheep, horse, studded with vermin; near them are their 
guns, and at their belts glitter three or four rows of brass scabbards. 
On the ground an old mat and a carpet, torn and stained. In the 
middle of the kibitka burns a fire of argoles, the acrid smoke of 
which mingles with that of the pipes. Some young lambs and a 
colt are tied in a corner; a pile of mattresses and coverings wait to 
serve for bedding at night. Some women in red rags and tatters, 
these likewise of a repulsive slovenliness, go and come, taking orders 
and grumbling. A little boy approaches and gazes at me with his 
two big, beautiful, dusky eyes. Most fortunately, being Christian. 
IT am impure and consequently exempt from the grasp of the hand 
of the men and from the caresses of the child. The dogs also are 
impure, so that perhaps through dread of filthiness or respect for 
beliefs they dare not enter the kibitka, and stay at the door. 

After the customary salutations these people conversed on subjects 
of interest to them—their horses, colts, money; above all, of silver, 
but also of wool from their sheep, for which they did not obtain 
as much as the value of a dog of one of the Armenian Christians 
come to the village. This sale kept them a little too near Astrabad, 
which made them fear that the governor might hear of their indif- 


FEUDALISM IN PERSIA——-DE MORGAN. 591 


ferent conversation on the subject of taxes. Moreover, on the least 
alarm they prepared to withdraw toward the Atrek River, so as not 
to pay the Adjémis (Persians). Then they talked about one of 
their young men who recently had been accused of stealing three 
horses from a Persian camp and commended his valor. 

Thinking that I had stayed long enough in this dirty, infected 
place to pay honor to my hosts, I entered the tent prepared for my 
use. Late in the evening, a great Turkoman brought a large copper 
tray covered with a cloth not too dirty. It is my dinner that my host 
offers me, some curd and cheese, a ragout of chicken with saffron, 
some rice, some bread, and a roast goose. Unfortunately, they had 
neglected to dress the goose. 

Of the same race as the Turkomans,! the Shah-Sévends? are the 
Tartars inhabiting the valley of Kara Su, tributary to the Araxes. 
Their territory lies between the Russian frontier of Leukoran and 
Kara Dagh.* Many years ago they revolted against Persian au- 
thority, pillaged the neighboring villages and the valley, and were 
obedient only to their chiefs. During the 25 years that I traveled in 
Persia, it had not been possible for me to enter their country and 
the only time that I had had the privilege of meeting any of their 
chiefs was in the streets of Ardebil, when they passed by in chains. 
But since that time the chiefs have settled their difficulties by mak- 
ing some presents to the authorities at Taurus, principally to the 
erown prince, who later occupied the throne under the name of 
Mehmet Shah, and to-day, returned home, they have resumed their 
life of brigands and wage war only the more fiercely against Persian 
troops. 

Although of nomad origin, like all the Tartars of Transcaucasia 
and Azerbijan, they have followed the example of their congeners 
and built a number of villages in their valley, living in them in 
winter, and as spring opens seeking the pastures of the mountains 
with their herds. They are very contented seigniors, for they levy 
on the royal authorities, rob their neighbors, and live as largely as 
possible under the feudal system of their ancestors. 

Among them there are many tribes and consequently many chiefs; 
while each of the tribes is divided into clans which, as in early times, 
furnish the chiefs with subsidies and men, so that they may be able to 


1These Turks have lived in the country since the invasions of the Middle Ages. It 
is probable that they came from the north through Derbend, Baku, and the Magan 
steppe, and that they belonged to the same immigration as the Tartars of Kazan and 
the Crimea, when the population of Azerbijan seems to have come by Chah-Toud and 
Teheran skirting along by Turkomania the southern foot of Elburz on the plateau. 

2 Shah-Sévends; from Shah, King; and Sermek-Aimer, friends of the King. 

3This valley of Kara Su is the only way open in the north of Persia by which in- 
vasions coming from the north by the defiles of Derbend could have been introduced on 
the Iranian plateau. To the west are the high mountains of Kara Dagh, to the east the 
peaks of Talish, extensions of Elburz, Only the valley of the Kara Su is open. 


592 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


sustain the interests of the tribe. It is estimated that there are 
from 30,000 to 40,000 of these “ favorites of the King.” 

In advancing toward the west you cease to see the Turks, and 
little by little the Kurd element predominates in the villages, for the 
open regions are left behind to enter the mountain gorges, and it is 
only in the flat regions suitable for maneuvers of their cavalry that 
the men of the steppes are established. The hilly regions favor am- 
buscades, and the Tartars have no taste for a kind of combat that 
does not permit an attack from afar, free from much danger, and 
then to escape at full speed of their horses when a hand-to-hand fight 
becomes inevitable. The Persians themselves do not at all like expe- 
ditions into the mountains, and the defiles inspire them with such 
great terror that the Kurds have been able to preserve their full 
independence. 

All these peoples, moreover, Persians, Turks, Kurds, Liurs, etc., 
are the most perfect cowards. War for them consists in pillage; 
they assassinate, but they do not come to blows. The Turks them- 
selves, who in other countries under powerful chiefs show such great 
military qualities, are wretched soldiers under the Persian system. 

Tn my many journeys I am often placed in perilous situations. On 
nearly every journey I have been deserted by all my native personnel 
or else forced to go on with much reduced force rather than to be 
left alone. My men would tell me “I fear,” and I could not under- 
stand this cowardice on the part of men armed and strong enough 
for defense. But in studying them and talking with them I finally 
comprehended their attitude. Fear among these people, who had 
never been taught courage, is a nervous sensation comparable to 
vertigo. Fear is not dishonorable in them any more than vertigo 
is in us, and none of them ever having been taught to banish fear by 
the will, nor made to understand that on courage depends the life 
and prosperity of the individual and the community, they give way 
to fear and frankly confess it. A Persian general who came one 
day to tell me of a fight between some nomads ended his story with 
this conclusion: “ No; never have I had such fear of my life.” 

At the foot of Mount Ararat, in the angle formed by the two fron- 
tiers of Russia and Turkey, lies the Territory of Maku. The khans 
are Kurd nobles. Their capital, Maku, is an agglomeration built 
beneath an immense rock shelter and of most curious appearance. 
This very peculiar site has probably always been inhabited ever since 
man came into these mountains. You see there numerous traces of 
a small Armenian village, and it is said that cuneiform inscriptions 
are found which are probably written in an extinct language.’ 


1This country during the Assyrian epoch was part of the Kingdom of Urartu (or 
de Van) where they spoke a special language, some texts of which are found near 
Gheuk-tchai (blue lake, Goktcha of the Russians) near Etchmiadzin and as far as 
Mukri in Turkestan. 


FEUDALISM IN PERSIA—DE MORGAN. 598 


In summer the villagers and townsmen go to the mountains with 
their herds. The khan is established in a cool place, where he re- 
ceives with the most perfect affability, for he is a very politic man 
through his contact with the Russians. 

In winter there comes to live at Maku not only the khan, but a 
crowd of his friends, who, like himself, carry the title of khans. 
They own a good number of villages, and, with their chief, hold a 
small court. It is the khan who treats with the Persian Government 
for all his family on questions of rent, and his friends are heard with 
him. It is likewise the khan who in his domains and those of his 
family levies the troops necessary for guarding the frontiers on the 
Turkish side and to prevent the Kurds of the vicinity of Bayazid 
from making raids on his territory. One of his family generally 
commands this small army, but when circumstances are urgent the 
khan himself conducts the operations. 

The Persian Government has always considered the khans of Maku 
as the valuable guardians of its frontiers. Thus, in the twentieth 
century, and in one of the Provinces most submissive to the royal 
administration, Azerbijan, we see this khannat enjoy all the preroga- 
tives of feudalism, have his vassals, his troops, and administer them 
himself, with the consent of the Persian Government. 

But this seignoir who, often crossing the Araxes River, takes the 
road for Tiflis, very rarely goes to Taurus. Who knows, after all, 
whether the friendship of the viceroy of Azerbijan will not become 
so pressing that, held by the most cordial hospitality, he will never 
revere his small dependencies? He prefers now to maintain from 
afar equally valuable relations. 

It is quite otherwise among certain Kurd tribes of Mukri. Those 
who have preserved most of their liberties attain it only against the 
will of the kings of Persia. In many cases the Persians have punished 
them with the greatest severity. 

I shall not speak of the khans and aghas of Gherrus, of the 
valleys of Djaghatu and Tatau, of those of Sakkis, of Bahnech, 
of Saudj-Bulaq.' They are to-day just as the provincial seigniors 
were in France during the reigns of Louis XV and Louis XVI; 
that is, great land proprietors deprived of all their feudal rights. I 
shall speak only of two small tribes, those of the Maméches and the 
Menghurs, irreconcilable enemies inhabiting the valley of Kialvi,? 
tributary of the Tigris, on the frontiers of Turkey, who are per- 
mitted to support themselves and to live according to the customs of 
their fathers. 


1+ These districts formed part formerly of the Madai country where the Assyrians often 
came on expeditions. The cuneiform texts teach us that they found there a great many 
small principalities. The country was then in the same social conditions as at the 
present day. 

2Le zab of cuneiform texts. 


44863°—sm 1913——38 


594 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


These tribes have at their head some aghas and are subdivided into 
a goodly number of clans, each controlled by more or less remote 
relatives of the chiefs. They could each furnish but a few hundred 
armed men. The winter they spend in the villages, in the summer 
they live in their black tents. During the cool season they stay in 
the valley and take care of their fields; when the heat comes they 
betake themselves to the mountains with their herds. 

In the village the house of the chief is the largest and can be 
distinguished from afar; at the camp his tent exceeds all the neigh- 
boring ones in height. It is covered with black mohair cloth encir- 
cled with embroidered plants (tchikhs) and is divided into three 
rooms—the center one, open on one side, is the konak, or reception 
room; the rooms on the right and left side are closed, one is the 
men’s apartment, the other the andérun, or harem, where the 
women and young children stay. The cooking is done in the andé- 
run, and in the men’s room, or the konak, they eat their meals. 
Before the tents the horses are tied, always saddled. 

Each group of habitations in the mountains has its great tent in 
the center of the camp, but much smaller than that of the agha, and 
the group of the chief and of his relatives occupies the center of 
these small villages. In the tent of the agha are found the silver 
arms, scrolls, all the most precious possessions of the tribe, as well 
as means of defense against attack. 

All the cattle of the tribe are brought together for pasturage and 
the men form a strong guard around it; but when evening comes each 
village of tents drives home its herd and guards it there during the 
night. A real pack of enormous dogs watches on the outskirts, and 
at the least alarm all the Kurds are afoot, gun in hand. 

While the herds are in the mountains, a certain number of men 
stay in the villages of the valley to watch the crop of wheat and to 
prevent an enemy from burning it. At harvest time a good number 
of men come down from the mountain. 

The cultivated lands are parceled out among the various subordi- 
nate chiefs, the agha reserving his part, and each subchief allots 
shares among the rayats, all the parcels being given pro rata accord- 
ing to the number of field hands at the disposal of each clan. 

In Persia, down to recent years, theoretically there was no real 
ownership of land. All, lands and men, belonged to the King; but 
in practice the great benevolence of the sovereign allows the use of 
lands by certain persons who have paid rental for it. This unusual 
method of proprietorship is passed on from great to small in the 
customs of the entire population. In such manner, among the Kurds, 
for example, the agha is supposed to own everything and only tem- 
porarily delegates his rights. But if the King or the agha wished to 


FEUDALISM IN PERSIA—DE MORGAN. 595 


take possession of these lands there would be a general levy of arms, 
custom having more force than the law. 

In Kurdistan questions relating to cultivated lands are regulated 
by secular customs and seldom contested; but in the case of pastures 
the limits are uncertain, and often the herds in crossing a stream 
have aroused bloody disputes between two neighboring tribes. 

In the valley a small river separates the territory of the Maméches 
from that of the Mefghurs. When I traveled there in 1890, I no- 
ticed on the right and left the ruins of many villages situated about 
200, 500, and 1,000 meters from this boundary river, while the inhab- 
ited villages were nearly 2 kilometers distant. This disposition 
attracted my notice, and asking persons about it I quickly learned 
the reason why these villages had been abandoned. The interests of 
two tribes, in war for some centuries, are the more secure the nearer 
they are to the frontier, the villages playing the role of watch posts. 
The Maméches and Mefighurs had therefore built as close as possible 
to the stream, but beyond the range of the arrows drawn on the oppo- 
site side of the river. But firearms one fine day made their appear- 
ance among the nomads and the projectiles killed enemies in the 
houses. They were then obliged to widen the neutral zone and to 
place the frontier posts farther away; then, the range of arms in- 
creasing, they moved to a still greater distance. To-day the Kurds 
consider that about 2 kilometers interval gives shelter from the 
enemy’s bullets. 

They told me many incidents about the war between the Maméches 
and Mefighurs, and listening with pleasure to all these stories of the 
past I thought that these people should not be so stupid as to kill one 
another because of troubles reaching back for centuries, maybe thou- 
sands of years, the origin of which they would necessarily be ignorant. 
Now, one evening as I talked of the Maméches in the tent of the agha, 
TI saw a man enter with his white cotton trousers covered with blood. 
He was a chief who had avenged the honor of his tribe; he had killed 
a Mefighur shepherd without defense. It would not be difficult to 
find other Maméches and other Mefighurs in the part of Kurdistan 
extending from the valley of Revanduz as far as Kermanshah and 
Zohab. All the districts shelter some small tribes of this people, 
more or less savage, more or less pillagers, and living outside the 
world under the direction of their hereditary chiefs; but they all 
look alike and differ only in the dialects in which they converse. 

The south of Kurdistan and Luristan are divided among a great 
number of khans, who, without being absolutely free financially, 
enjoy none the less all the privileges of feudalism. These are the 
khans of Kialhurs, of Kérind, of Djafis, of Ghilan, of Avroman, 
etc. But I shall not delay to speak of these, but will come at 


596 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


once to the tribes the most free in all Persia, to those inhabiting 
southern Luristan toward the Ab-é-Diz River, between Khoramabad 
and the Susiana (Khuzistan) plain on one side, and on the other 
side between the frontiers of the Bakhtiyari and the eastern branch 
of the Dirfoul River. 

It is in this region that in summer dwell the Seghvends, Direk- 
vends, Bairanvends, and Hissavends. It is there between the Ab-é- 
Diz River and the Madian Rud that they sow their wheat; then 
when cold weather begins to be felt, they go by short journeys toward 
the valley of the Séin-Méré River? to reach Arabistan and eastern 
Pusht-i-Kuh. 

In these Seghvend tribes there are many khans, but only one high 
chief. The others, who are his counselors and his vassals, all belong 
to his family. The high chief represents the elder branch and 
controls the most rayats and the largest herds. The others come 
next, being the richer and more esteemed, the nearer their relation- 
ship to the khan. Everything is done with common consent—the 
farming, the changing of pastures, the choice of place for the camp, 
the plundering of a weaker neighboring tribe or of a caravan cross- 
ing the country—and it is with common consent also that they refuse 
to pay rent to the King, when they importune the governor of the 
Province in his city, when they rob officials on the road and even 
entire regiments in the course of the journey. 

I have held very close and cordial relations with the Seghvends, 
for each year they come with their herds as far as Susa, and I have 
employed hundreds of them as workmen during the last 15 years. 

It is a very interesting sight when ten or twelve thousand nomads 
arrive on our plains pushing before them forty or fifty thousand 
head of cattle. The invasion of the Huns in western Europe must 
have presented the same aspect as this crowd spread out under the 
walls of our chateau. It is a wave of animals loaded or free, of 
men on horseback or foot, of women carrying their little children on 
their backs, leading others by the hand, loaded with cooking uten- 
sils, with spinning wheel or loom. Sheep, cows, horses, donkeys, 
men and women, children, and dogs make a frightful sound to hear, 
and the noise increases as the torrent ebbs and flows, and soon there 
is only a roaring wave. On the right, the left, some groups stop, the 
cattle and the mules are unburdened and the tents are set up. Some 
blue fumes sifted from the hair of the tent cloths spread out in long 
lines pushed by the breeze. In an instant all the brushwood of the 
country is cut to make pens for sheep, setting for the tents, for a 
great heap to feed the fires. Then the herds are spread out and 
cover the plain, while the men circle among them guarding them, 


iThis river bears three names: Gamas in its upper part, Kerkhah in its middle por- 
tion, and Séin-Méré when it passes into the plain of Arabistan, 


FEUDALISM IN PERSIA—DE MORGAN. 597 


watching the horizon, while the women go for wood and water, or 
wash their miserable rags. 

In the midst of the groups of tents you easily distinguish the home 
of the chiefs. Some horsemen emerging from it go and come from 
one group to another, making endless visits on business. 

In a few days all the herbage of the region is eaten up. Then the 
tents are struck and the camps reset some miles away; there are left 
in the plain only the yellow spots on the site of the camps, piles of 
cut wood, burned sticks marking the fire places, some wooden feed- 
ing troughs, where the horses and mares of the rich ones had eaten 
grain brought from the mountain. 

But there are complaints from the neighboring Arabs about water 
questions or thefts committed by the Seghvends. They dispute 
without agreement; and shortly shots start in the pla. From one 
side and the other buffaloes and sheep are stolen; soon the fight 
becomes general, and all night you hear the fusillade mingled with 
' the barking of dogs, from time to time firearms flash in the darkness, 
now and then there are some wounded and dead. But these incidents 
are of hardly any consequence, for one day the chief of a neighboring 
tribe brought me to attend his brother and two of his men severely 
injured, and his mare whose neck was pierced by a bullet. The fate 
of this beast concerned him much more than that of the men. “And 
my mare,” he kept saying to me incessantly, while I thought of the 
wounds of his brother. 

The rumor spread that the governor was sending some troops to 
collect the taxes. In an instant hostilities ceased, the Arabs retired 
towards Lower Kerkhah. The Seghvends struck their tents, and 
crossing the ford of the river came into another Province to seek 
pastures on the frontiers of Mesopotamia far enough from Persian 
authorities to insure freedom from taxes which they do not wish 
to pay. 

There they ran their heads against Arab tribes of the Béni-Lams, 
Bairanvends, and Direkvends, their congeners, and the shots flew 
again. Finally, hot weather returning, they quit the dry plains, and 
slowly as they had come retraced the road to Khormabad and the 
summer pastures. 

The men carry on war, are occupied with their cattle and horses, 
knit their woolen socks, and smoke. The women are employed in 
household cares, carry water and wood, prepare the meals, wash their 
meager possessions of family linen. Between times they spin the 
wool, weave cloth for the men’s clothing, prepare dye for making 
rugs, a work in which they excel, weave the great haircloth coverings 
for the tents, make the horsehair ropes, and doing this watch their 
children, cook the bread, make the curd, churn the butter, etc. 


598 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


The tribe itself produces the greater part of the necessaries of life. 
Wheat, barley, and tobacco are raised in summer in the mountains, 
and the cattle furnish meat, cheese, milk, curd, whey, woolens, carpets, 
tent cloths, ropes, ete. So that the only articles the nomads must 
procure in the cities are arms, ammunition, white and red cotton- 
ades worn by the men and women, salt, sugar, tea, cooking utensils, 
and other manufactured articles. The pecuniary resources of the 
tribe comes from the sale of wool and hair, rugs and felts, horses and 
cattle; but they sell few of their herds which are used, on the contrary, 
to increase them. Though these men possess all that is indispen- 
sible for life, they are very poor in actual money, so that the posses- 
sion of a few krans (about 10 cents) is their constant thought. 

The feudal customs of these tribes are reflected to some extent in 
the way in which the fellahs labor in our workshops; each shop 
equipped with 50 men is headed by a Ser Kar (foreman) who, 
although paid, would receive from his workmen 1 day’s wages out of 
every 10. Each 10 days also another day’s wages is assigned to the 
khan of whom these men are dependents and who furnishes them for 
our employ. In fact these fellahs give 20 per cent of their salary to 
their chiefs. I was forced to abolish this tithe and forbid it. But 
since such things are done in secret. they continued as if I had said 
nothing. To-day I close my eyes. 

The Seghvends, through their contact with the cities of Arabistan, 
and also on account of their presence for 15 years in the workshops 
of Susa, are to-day much more civilized than their congeners, the 
Direkvends and Bairanvends, who have their winter quarters in the 
valley of the Séin-Méré. These tribes, administered the same as the 
Seghvends, have been exempt from the law for many years. They 
are bandits, robbing caravans and stealing from their neighbors who 
are nomads like themselves; they are therefore looked upon with 
disfavor throughout Luristan. One day on the route between 
Khoramabad and Dizful they robbed an entire Persian regiment, the 
colonel at its head, without doing other harm to any one; but they 
took everything—arms, ammunition, provisions, baggage, uniforms, 
horses, and mules—and little was their need for them, for it was 
only in the costume of Apollo Belvedere that this valiant regiment, 
with colonel ahead, made its triumphal entry into the city of Dizful, 
to which it was assigned as garrison. 

This unfortunate pleasantry, however, led the governor of Lur- 
istan, a prince of royal blood, residing at Kermanushah, to decide 
to severely punish the miscreants; but, since it costs to levy troops 
for such a task, he charged the other khans heavily and required 
the Vahli of Pusht-i-Kuh to make these insolents “ tchapou ” (depriv- 
ing them of everything save life). As may well be believed, the 


FEUDALISM IN PERSIA—DE MORGAN. 599 


war drags along and the Direkvends, after having bribed the Segh- 
vend chiefs, secure through gifts, freedom from disturbance by the 
Vahli of Pusht-i-Kuh. I was in these mountains when the presents 
were received, which included a large sum of money, some mares, 
some young girls, the handsomest of the tribe of Direkvends, some 
arms, and some rugs. 

Were not these the presents that Asurbanipal received from petty 
kings who aroused his wrath ? 

The Vahli took time for reflection, and after three days’ seclusion 
in his harem withdrew his troops. 

These Direkvends are very deeply in debt. The tribe I have known 
the longest is that of a certain Aslan-Khan living between the two 
branches of the river Ab-é-Diz in a region which is a veritable chaos 
of rugged mountains. In summer this personage with his men 
dwelt in the mountains near the plateau, bordered on this side by 
high cliffs; but when cold weather begins they leave by paths cut in 
the baleony under the precipices and gain the warm valleys more to 
the south. There they have their villages, their fields of rice, grain, 
tobacco, and vegetables. The soil and their herds yield full abund- 
ance. Within their domain are mines of salt and bitumen, and 
immense forests of evergreen oak; and in the valleys all kinds of 
fruits except the orange. They never need go to the cities, from 
which they receive arms and ammunition from time to time. Their 
blue cotton costumes of material made and woven by themselves 
are exactly like those of Persians of Acheemenian times, their head- 
dress is the same; their beards and hair are of the same cut. Not 
a thing has changed in that country since Darius ruled the Persians, 
only in their weapons do these men differ from their ancestors. In 
their inaccessible refuge they have braved all kings; invasions, con- 
quests, have not touched them, and if they have become Mussulmans 
it is only because their neighbors having adopted that religion they 
have thought it more useful for the preservation of their liberty to 
follow the general movement. Elsewhere in these mountains there 
is very little concern about religious beliefs and usages; the women 
do not veil the face, and in general this is to the great loss of those 
who see them. 

The country inhabited by this tribe is admirably adapted to the 
preservation of customs. It is a vast triangle bounded on the north 
by mountains very difficult of access, and on the sides by rapid 
rivers flowing through canyons many hundreds of meters deep. The 
neighbors to the south and southeast are the Bakhtiyari, those to the 
northwest and west are the Seghvends. But these people have no 
relations with their congeners on the right or the left; they are not 
even known by name in the neighboring tribes. They are the most 
isolated beings that you can see on a continent. In 1891 I attempted 


600 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


to visit this tribe, but its chief, Aslan Khan (The lion chief), dis- 
suaded me in very convincing terms. Never had any man foreign to 
his tribe trod the soil of his little domain and he held guard over 
its secrets. 

“ Thou knowest Mesched-i-Nassr,”+ he said to me. “ Well, go and 
find him and tell him that he is a Péder Soukhte,? because he eats 
money, and that if he wants to get any from me he must make the 
search himself.” 

During this conversation the followers of this prince stole the 
roasting spits from my cook. 

After having discussed some of the subseigniors, we will speak of 
the principal ones, some real feudal princes, who, though Persians of 
the twentieth century, are the same as were the dukes of Burgundy 
or Brittany in France at the time of Louis XI. There are a few of 
them elsewhere, the principal ones are the Vahli of Pusht-i-Kuh, 
that of Bakhtiyari and the Sheik of Arabistan. The first two are 
from old Iranian stock; the third is a genuine Arab Melek, a digni- 
fied successor of the sovereign princes of Characéne, a country of 
which he owns the greater part. 

The Vahlis of Pusht-i-Kuh, that is, “back of the mountain,” or 
“ outer mountain,” have been masters for some centuries of their 
principality which reaches to the confines of Mesopotamia, from 
the interior by a rapid river, the Séin-Méré, and a high chain of 
mountains. Kebir Kuh (Mount Kebir) opens at only a few places 
and like a wall protects the territories of the Vahli against incursions. 
These people, few in number, thus pass their lives almost exclusively 
on the slope of Mesopotamia. In summer snow and fresh pasturage 
are found at Mount Kebir. In the plain below grow the date, the 
orange, and the pomegranate. A day’s journey by horse brings one 
from snow to the torrid heat of Mesopotamia; but it takes about six 
days to cross this principality from north to south. Numerous 
streams descend from Mount Kebir toward the Tigris, but without 
reaching it, for the fields take possession of the waters and byte 
thousand eames spread them on the lands. 

Pusht-i-Kuh is situated northwest of the roads leading from 
Arabistan into Iran, properly speaking,’ across Luristan and the coun- 
tries of the Bakhtiyari. This country lies south of the route from 
Bagdad to Hamaden,‘ through Kermanshah, and its position be- 
tween two important routes of travel, as well as its frontier pro- 

1Nassr ed Din Shah who having made the pilgrimage of Mesched had right to the 
title of Meschedi. 

2** Son of a scorched father,’”’ the highest insult of Persians. 

3In olden times the royal route from Persepolis to Ctésiphon traversed the eastern 
part of Pusht-i-Kuh, and one still sees traces of it in the ruins of the Sassanide-de-Pa-i- 
Poul bridge over the Kerkhah, from the place called Bay&t to the frontiers of Turkey. 


4This road was the one followed by the royal route from Babylon to Ecbatana 
(Hamaden) ; it passed through the gorges of Zagros, where numerous traces are found. 


FEUDALISM IN PERSIA——-DE MORGAN, 601 


tected by nature, enabled it to preserve its independence both in 
ancient + times and in our day. 

By the Kings of Persia, who have never placed any heavy burden 
on them, these people are considered as frontier guardians and have 
been favored with light taxation, the right to maintain an independ- 
ent army, and have been granted many other privileges of less im- 
portance. At times they are called upon to furnish auxiliary troops 
for the King, and, as was formerly done by the vassals of France, 
they serve by the side of the sovereign or of their marshals, com- 
manding their own forces, or at least are given command; for the 
vahli leaves his domains as little as possible, either because he dreads 
finding a competitor on his return or through fear of being more or 
less graciously detained as a hostage at court, to be released only at 
the cost of ruinous gifts. 

The vahli of Pusht-i-Kuh can put in the field from 1,500 to 2,000 
men, infantry and cavalry. These soldiers arm, mount, and uniform 
themselves; but while on a campaign they are allowed rations, money, 
or partial exemption from taxes. The Government is not concerned 
with these details, but the vahli meets war expenses from his own 
resources, even when he carries on a campaign by order of the king. 
A reduction of tribute indemnifies him in part for his expenditures. 

I knew the aged vahli, Hussein Kuli Khan, very well; he was a 
big, powerful man, resembling portraits on certain drachmas of the 
Arsacid King Mithridates II. He was very hospitable, although he 
had the reputation of being very firm and often harsh, which, how- 
ever, brought him the esteem and respect of all.? 

His court was made up of an administrative officer; two or three 
ambassadors,® men of intelligence whom he sent on special missions; 
one or two letter writers; a mullah (expounder of the law and 
dogmas of Islam) whom otherwise he never saw; his brother, chief 
of his cavalry, carrying the title of colonel; a certain number of 
Khans at the head of his infantry; and a Jew who never left him 
and whose only duty was to keep busy making’ date brandy which this 
excellent vahli Mussulman drank in prodigious quantity. 


1The Chaldean emperors without doubt made some campaigns in these mountains, and 
I think that the tablet of Naram-Sin (Musée du Louvre, excavations of Susa) represents 
an expedition of that prince in the country which to-day forms part of Pusht-i-Kuh. 

2In the Hast only those are respected who inspire fear. Kindness is always considered 
as a weakness and is taken advantage of at once unless some exhibition of firmness recalls 
the sense of duty. Many governors have been driven out because they were too mild. 

> One of these ambassadors, Kaid Khani Khan, a very intelligent young man, chief of 
a tribe which he had organized himself, who died only a short time ago, had on one occa- 
sion been sent in an embassy to the chief of the Beni-Lams. He finished his mission; 
then taking the road for his return, met a patrol of Turkish soldiers, who found nothing 
better to do than to make “‘ tchapou ’’—that is, to take away his arms, ammunition, and 
baggage. This ambassador under the privileges of diplomacy had some thoughts quite 
special, but otherwise this incident created no impression other than to make the vahli 
laugh to tears. 


602 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


Pusht-i-Kuh is divided into districts parceled out among the sev- 
eral tribes. Each tribe has its warm lands and its cold lands, admin- 
istered by a chief who as a rule does not belong to the family of the 
vahli, but is chosen by him, some descendant of old servants of his 
household. 

In all Pusht-i-Kuh there is not a single permanent village, the 
entire life of every one being passed in tents on account of the very 
mild climate of the country. 

The vahli owns a winter residence near the Turkish frontier (Hus- 
seinieh). The house, built in the midst of date and orange groves, 
is adorned with numerous representations of massacres of wild goats, 
a decoration whose origin dates back probably to the time of the 
Klamite Kings of Susa.2 Another residence, much larger and built 
in the mountain, was intended for summer sojourns. But it is 
always hot at Pusht-i-Kuh; and since they carefully choose their 
encampments for varied seasons, they obtain an equal temperature 
during the 12 months of the year. Thus Hussein Kuli Kahn, always 
living in a tent, his two houses fell into ruins. 

I have on many occasions passed entire months at Pusht-i-Kuh and 
often some weeks near the home? (Husseinabad) of this old man, who 
with good reason considered me as his friend. ‘“ What a misfortune 
that you can not be a Mussulman,” said he to me one day, and there 
was in this remark the highest compliment, the most sincere that 
could come from the mouth of a Mohammedan. 

Never did Hussein Kuli Kahn come out of his harem before mid- 
day. Then he mounted a horse and often invited me to accompany 
him on his rides. The little troop included, besides ourselves, the 
minister of the vahli, his sons, some cavalry, and a few servants, one 
of whom carried the kalian * hung on the flanks of his horse, as well 
as the necessary burning brasier, while another servant had in saddle- 
bags the samovar ® tea, sugar, and all the apparatus for making Per- 
sian tea. 

We rode along for about an hour, then rested in the shade to take 
tea, and the vahli began to dispose of some current business matters. 
The minister read the letters recently received, Hussein Kuli Khan 
dictated the replies, and taking from his pocket a small cloth bag 
drew from it his seal,° which the minister immediately carefully 

1The representation of the wild goat played an important role in Susian decorative art 
from the most ancient times down to the Assyrian conquest. 

2The goat lives in great numbers in a wild state on Mount Kébir. 

8The amalah is the camp, the residence of the chief of the tribe. 

4 What the Turks call ‘ naigileh,’ more common than the Persian name. 

* The use of the samovar, which the Russians got from the Tartars, has spread through- 
out Persia, Mesopotamia, and a great part of Turkey, as well in the homes of the nomads 
among the sedentary population. 


®° Among orientals the seal is equivalent to the signature; it is therefore preserved with 
the greatest care. 


FEUDALISM IN PERSIA—-DE MORGAN. 603 


affixed either below or on the back? of the written page. This seal 
was then returned to the vahli’s pocket. 

When a difficult case was presented, they discussed it; each gave 
his opinion, even the servant who had served the tea or passed the 
kalian. If one of the opinions pleased the vahli, he adopted it and 
dictated his reply accordingly; if not, he opened the Koran at any 
page whatever and according to the word at the angle of the first 
page, that on the right side, consequently, he settled the business or 
else postponed it till the morrow, the drawing by lot having con- 
vinced him that this particular day was not propitious for settling 
such an affair. Or else, counting a certain number of beads of his 
rosary, he would toss up for a decision. 

St. Louis judging under his oak tree was certainly not grander 
than this new incarnation of Mithridates II dispensing justice in 
the open air, taking for his counselors all those who surrounded him, 
listening to all complaints, all demands, all requests, familiarly con- 
versing with the most humble of his rayats or serfs. This sight gave 
me really a broad idea of primitive institutions among the Iranian 
peoples. The audience ended, Hussein Kuli Khan felt the need of 
quenching his thirst, and a servant approaching very ceremoniously 
offered him a large silver cup holding at least a pint of liquid, which 
the vahli emptied at one draught; it was brandy. 

We returned from the ride; the vahli talked no more, retired into 
his tent, and slept until evening; then he dined with his wives, again 
took some brandy, and showed no more signs of life until the next 
day. 

When I arrived at Pusht-i-Kuh, Hussein Kuli Kahn promptly 
sent a troop of cavalry to meet me, its military band equipped with 
flute and tambourine fastened at the saddlebows. It was in this 
parade, in the midst of mares that made my horse rear, that I was 
conducted to the site chosén for my camp. Scarcely had I put foot to 
the ground when a crowd of domestics arrived, the chief ahead, car- 
rying some plates loaded with fruits and other refreshments. Then 
the visits began. Hussein Kuli Kahn first sent his sons or his min- 
ister to learn the state of my health, and, about an hour later, having 
made inquiry of the vahli through my chief servant as to what hour 
he could conveniently receive me, I went to his tent and remained 
there about 15 minutes. An hour later, as the agreement willed, 
Hussein Kuli Kahn came in his turn to my camp not without re- 
questing an hour when I would repeat my visit. Then I made some 
presents of money to all his servants, each receiving according to 

1The king places his seal at the top of his firmans and at the bottom of his letters; 
on a special writing to his equal he puts it on the back of the paper facing the last word 


he wrote; to place it at the foot of the written page would indicate to the receiver that 
he was considered as his servant. 


604 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


his position near his master, and the vahli charged his minister to 
do the same to my attendants. 

I then sent to the vahli by my head servant the presents brought 
from Paris for his sake, chiefly some arms inlaid with gold or silver. 
The same day or the next morning he sent to me by his head equerry 
a very fine horse. 

These ceremonies finished, etiquette was ended, and we afterwards 
met only in the most familiar manner. His sons, his minister, often 
came to see me, and I made it a point always to return their visits. 
T talked with them about a thousand things of the country. I asked 
them about their habits, the people, the politics of the tribes, and 
they asked me details about Europe. In 1896 Hussein Kuli Kahn 
gave me for a guide in his country an old equerry long in his service. 
In 1904 I asked to see this man. He had become a paralyzed old 
man, so that they had to carry him to my camp. 

They talked much at Pusht-i-Kuh of the recollection that Eu- 
ropeans preserve of services that have been rendered them, while 
among the nomads a man is forgotten from the day when there is 
nothing more to expect from him. 

On the death of Hussein Kuli Kahn his elder son, the conqueror 
of the Direkvends, of whom we spoke above, succeeded him by right, 
but the younger son for many years would not agree to serve under 
the authority of his brother. He withdrew to his domain of Hou- 
leilan? and went to war against the new vahli, as at the time when 
the sons of one of the Arsacide disputed the throne after his death. 
Finally, the two brothers were reconciled, peace was restored in 
Pusht-i-Kuh, and, as formerly, all was ruled there according to 
feudal traditions. 

Other Iranian high seigniors are the vahlis of the Bakhtiyari, 
whose tribes occupy all the country between Ispahan and Shuster, be- 
tween the river Ab-é-Diz and the vicinity of Bender Buchir. They 
are the principal vassals of the kings of Persia. The organization of 
their tribes is the same as at Pusht-i-Kuh, except that the Bakhtiyari 
army can put in the field from fifteen to twenty thousand men; and 
the khans as well as the vahlis of this country, coming in frequent 
contact with the Persians of Ispahan and with Europeans, are much 
more intelligent than the seigniors of Luristan. Many go to Eu- 
rope, some speak English or French, which, however, does not hin- 
der them from adhering just as closely as my friends of Pusht-i-Kuh 
to the old feudal institutions. 

The tribes of Bakhtiyari are to-day the soul of Persia, because they 
are powerful and well governed. To be sure, there are some frac- 

1A district in the valley of the Séin-Méré to the north of Pusht-i-Kuh which Hussein 


Kuli Khan had bought for his younger son, foreseeing that his succession inyolyed some 
difficulties between his children. 


FEUDALISM IN PERSIA—DE MORGAN. . 605 


tions of this people whose morals and instincts are still very barbar- 
ous; it would be surprising not to meet such a class in so vast a terri- 
tory. But in general there reigns among them a strict discipline, 
which singularly contrasts with what we found in Kurdistan and 
Luristan. 

These countries, it seems, have always been very nearly independ- 
ent. All that can be positively stated, however, is that the tribes 
which live there to-day occupied the country under the Achzemenide, 
but nothing hinders the thought. 

The royal route which connected Persepolis with Babylon crossed 
the country now occupied by the Bakhtiyari, and we know that the 
Great King himself paid a tax to tribes of these mountains when he 
passed over their lands. The khans were even then seignors of much 
importance. We made a short visit to a high Arab seignior, El 
Mohammerah, a powerful Gharal chief. We found him in his palace 
built on the bank of the Persian river Chatt-El-Arab, in honor of 
Mohammerah, below Basrah. He is an amiable man, keen eyed, in- 
telligent, very polite. He keeps abreast of all that occurs both in 
Europe and in Luristan, at Teheran, and among all the tribes of 
Mesopotamia. 

Sheik Ghazal is one of the richest land proprietors. He personally 
owns immense domains both in Persia and Turkey, and all the sheiks 
of Arabistan recognize his supremacy, which is in a measure felt 
likewise by the armies. He is a veritable Malkim Malek, controlling 
an important treasury, a numerous army, steamboats—in fact, every- 
thing that can bring wealth, intelligence, and power. English boats 
salute him with cannon, and from ashore he returns the salute with 
his own artillery. No one would dare touch the Sheik Ghazal, who 
smiles at revolutions and at the fall of sovereigns. He is king in 
fact—what cares he for those who are such only in name? 

As one may judge from the preceding pages, the feudal seigniors 
still play an extremely important role in the Persian Empire. Their 
power is great, for the spirit of nearly the entire nation still rests in 
feudalism. 

If we leave the domains of the seigniors and enter the cities in the 
very heart of Persia, we find there among the merchants and the 
artisans the same kinds of corporations and all the institutions that 
prevailed in France in the Middle Ages—the tithe from gain for the 
clergy, immunity of beneficiaries of the church, and many other 
privileges which formerly existed among us. 

Persia to-day represents what France was before Richelieu, that 
period when for the security of the Crown it was necessary to achieve 
the work of Louis XI, to demantle the great forests, to crush the 
remains of feudalism. 


606 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


This feudalism is always very powerful in Ivan; it has deep roots. 
That is what we wish to show in this study. It would have been 
easy to cite a much greater number of examples, to conduct the 
reader to the homes of hundreds of begs, aghas, or khans; but we 
have judged it futile to enter into such numerous details. A few 
types are enough to show how Persian feudalism was born, how it 
traversed the various phases of life of the empire on which it de- 
pends and, finally, how it is still maintained in our day. You will 
pardon me for having cited some personal incidents. It has been 
done to offer some proof of my story, and most of these incidents are 
of a nature to enable the reader to judge more clearly of the mentality 
of the people discussed. 


Ine Rousse (Corse), February 12, 1912. 


SHINTOISM AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE. 


By K. KaNoxKoet, 
Bachelor of Divinity, Master of Arts, Tokyo, Japan. 


1. HISTORICAL SKETCH. 


In mythical antiquity when as yet nature and mankind, mankind 
and the gods were viewed as unseparated, a people landed on the 
island of Kiushu, in the southwest part of Japan. Scholars differ 
concerning the racial affinity of that people; some would assign it 
to the Malay race, others to the Mongol, while still others to the 
Phenician or even the Greco-Roman race. 

This people seems to have been superior to all others who had 
previously settled in Japan. It was at all events conscious of its 
power and imbued with the divine right to rule Japan. Ama-terasu, 
“the Heaven-shining one,” the fair, mild, bright, victorious sun 
goddess, was its diety, and of whom it was the offspring. According 
to the Japanese myth this sun goddess sent her offspring from the 
celestial realm to the land of Japan there to establish order and 
dominion: “The land of Japan, the Middle Kingdom, the rich rice 
field is the land where my offspring shall rule.” This was her word 
and command. 

But somewhat prior to this people another race, likewise powerful 
and civilized, had settled, not in the southwestern island, but in the 
northwestern part of the principal island of Japan, in the coast land 
of the Japanese Sea—in Idzumo. This people rapidly spread and, 
at the time of the arrival of the children of the Sun, had nearly 
subjected the whole of the principal island with the exception of its 
northeastern portion. It is quite certain that this people, whom we 
shall here call the “ Idzumo,” was closely related to the Koreans, and 
on that account alone was it superior to numerous other peoples. The 
affinity of the Idzumo with the Mongols can not be established with 
certainty, but it is probably very close. Whether it belongs to the 
same race as the Sun offspring is still an open question. 

The disposition and the character of both peoples are different ; 
there is especially noticeable a great difference in their religious con- 
Leipzig, Johann Ambrosius Barth, 1912, pp. 57-70. 

607 


608 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


ceptions. The tribal deity of the Sun offspring, as already indicated, 
is the sun; the princes very frequently bear names in which the word 
“sun” (Japanese, 17) is contained. The disposition of this people 
is serene, bright, one might say tropical in the good sense. The char- 
acter is indescribeably fine, brave, aristocratic. 

On the other hand, the tribal deity of the Idzumo is a god of the 
storm, the clouds, and the sea, vehement, wrathful, and angry. The 
disposition of this people is somber; the character is more practical 
than aristocratic. Life’s happiness and enjoyment were more es- 
teemed by them than governing power and brilliant deeds of valor. 

Under such conditions the Sun people found a rival in the Idzumo. 
The land, which was considered to be its mission and divine right to 
govern, it found in the control of others. With an amazing sense of 
its right and might, it sent a messenger to the Idzumo demanding 
the right of government from the rival. As might be expected, the 
Idzumo refused to comply. A second message was sent in vain. 
Thereupon the Sun people dispatched its brave general with a fleet 
and ordered the demand repeated. Some small skirmishes ensued. . 
But the Idzumo were of a practical turn and eschewed the sufferings 
and inconveniences of war. And thus, on the condition that the Sun 
people allow the court of the _Idzumo government to continue in its 
former splendor, the dominion over the land was surrendered to the 
Sun people. 

But the island of Kiushu, where the Sun people had settled, is 
situated at the southwestern end of Japan, which is very inconven- 
ient for the fortification of an empire and the subjection of the 
entire country. Several generations passed away in small, insignifi- 
cant quarrels with the surrounding tribes. Then there arose a great 
and mighty movement. Prince Kan-Iware, of the Sun people, left 
the place of his birth, the home of his forefathers, and set out with 
his warriers in ships for the land of the Middle Kingdom. There 
he fought with various tribes; with the native, hairy Ainu as well 
as with the vassals of the Idzumo. The sun was his tutelary deity. 
He fought in the firm belief in his right and the protection of his 
ancestress and in the end succeeded in establishing an empire in the 
center of the principal island of Japan. This Kan-Iware is the first 
Emperor of Japan—the Emperor Jimmu. He is assumed to have 
founded his throne in 660 B. C. 


2. DEFINITION OF SHINTO. 


The word “ Shinto” means the “ way of the gods ”—that is, the 
doctrine of the gods—and was coined in the sixth century A. D., 
when Buddhism was introduced into Japan from Korea, in contrast 
to “ Butsudo,” the way of the Buddhas. Thus, the word originally 
denoted the entire native religion of Japan. In the course of time 


SHINTOISM—-KANOKOGI. 609 


Shinto underwent a certain, if small, development; in the eighteenth 
century, following its renaissance, Shinto assumed a pronounced 
color and definite form and characteristically pure spirit. Some 
foreign investigators overlook this fact and include every supersti- 
tion as it accumulates in popular life under the name of Shinto. By 
treating Shintoism in this manner one can never hope to reach its 
core and find its real significance. Suppose an enlightened China- 
man, educated in the positivistic Confucian philosophy, was travel- 
ing for his education in Europe, and without any knowledge of 
Christian theology or European philosophy and science, should 
merely peep into the churches and overhear people talk on the street. 
He would hear many a superstition and see many strange, magically 
conceived actions. If this Chinaman should group all these super- 
stitions, mystical rites, and magical actions together and bestow upon 
them all the name of “ Christianity ” and on that account refuse it as 
a religion, would he be right? Certainly not. But that was done by 
a writer who with great pains collected every crude superstition in 
Japan and incorporated them in his work without order or system 
and without distinguishing between the noble and the base, the 
essential and the apparent, the permanent and the transitory. We 
shall, therefore, here try to bring out the essence, the kernel, of 
Shintoism, referring to the superstitions only in so far as they stand 
in any relation to the central part. 


3. THE RELIGION OF SHINTO. 


The background of Shintoism is nature religion. In this sphere 
there is hardly any distinction between nature and man, between man 
the gods. Mankind is nothing more than a part of nature and nature 
is but expanded mankind. Mountains, forests, rivers, and the sea, as 
also the sun and moon, are gods. Even the countries are the off- 
spring of a divine pair. In the beginning there was a divine couple. 
Before the gods themselves were born this divine couple had brought 
forth the Japanese islands; the birth of the gods came afterwards. 
These gods are mostly nature gods—gods of the winds, the storm, 
rain, fire, field, fountain, etc. Man beheld a god in everything that 
struck his childlike, inexperienced, groping eye as strange—in every- 
thing that appeared to his helpless state as great and powerful, that 
in his hard struggle for existence was helpful. It was probably after 
a long period that man learned to distinguish between the indwelling 
spirit and the external object. The Japanese word for god is Kami, 
which merely means “ above,” “ the above one.” Thus, the chief of a 
small clan calls himself “a god of the land.” All princes and rulers 
call themselves kami; that is, gods. 

Already in this stage of religious development it is seen how inti- 
mately religion is connected with life, with its preservation and 

44863°—sm 1913-39 


610 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


expansion. Man fears the mighty phenomena of nature, but he can 
befriend them. The inner impulse of all living beings to preserve 
and increase life impelled man to draw to himself all that was helpful 
in nature, to embrace it, and to enter into a permanent covenant with 
it by means of all those sacred rites as primitive man knew them. 
The instinctive desire after more, the craving after the great and 
sublime, generated religion in mankind. Deep at the bottom of such 
primeval life, I believe we must look for the true psychological and 
at the same time the metaphysical root of religion, and, in particular, 
of Shintoism. 

In this stage of religious development the Japanese people was 
found when the first emperor, Jimmu, already known to us, accom- 
plished his splendid conquest. As has already been said, this people 
allied itself to the Sun goddess and called itself the offspring of that 
deity, and the later Japanese veneration of the emperors has its ori- 
gin in this. The political change also brought about a religious 
revolution. The religion of the Idzumo, in which nature-worship 
plaved the foremost part, and the religion of the Sun people, in 
which hero-worship predominated over nature-worship, met and 
united. The hero-worship of the victorious ones was not able to 
drive out the nature-worship of the conquered people; of many 
reasons for this only one may be mentioned here. The successors of 
the great Jimmu were not strong men. They achieved neither ex- 
pansion of the imperial power nor of civilization. Only after the 
lapse of about four centuries is an energetic emperor again on the 
scene, who, for the first time in the history of Japan, created a system 
of taxation and dug ponds for irrigating works, and started expedi- 
tions to unknown northeastern regions. Unfortunately a pestilence 
broke out among the men, claiming thousands of victims. In the 
course of centuries just elapsed the enterprising, energetic life has 
sunk, and with it also the religion. It is not astonishing then that 
we see the cause of the misfortune ascribed to the anger of the gods, 
particularly the gods of the subjugated Idzumo. Hence there fol- 
lowed a restoration of the forgotten gods. Numerous temples were 
erected to these gods and abundant sacrifices were offered to them. 
The defeated gods experienced a revival. The spirit of the con- 
quered people avenged itself on its conquerors, becoming their 
spiritual rulers. A strange mixture. Even at present the two strains 
(sharply separable) can be discerned in Shintoism. There are two 
principal Shinto shrines, one at Ise, where Ama-terasu, the Sun 
goddess is worshipped, and the other at Idzumo, where Onamuchi, 
the former rival of the Sun goddess, is venerated. These two strains 
must be kept clearly in view for a better understanding of Shintoism. 
The Idzumo influence of nature-worship forms the background of the 


SHIN TOISM—-KANOKOGI. 611 


world conception of the Shinto religion, while the influence of Ise 
supplies in hero-worship the active spirit of Shinto. 

Shintoism survived in simple, pure form till the sixth century. 
Scarcely any distinction was made between priests and laymen, be- 
tween the holy and the profane—in contrast to the Hindus and the 
ancient Gauls. The administration of the state, the governing was eo 
ipso religious worship. The Japanese word for “ governing,” matsu- 
rigoto, is derived from Matsuru, “ worship.” Thus among the ancient 
Japanese, governing and worship were identical. The religious cere- 
monies were consequently very simple. The greatest and most im- 
portant ceremony is the purification, which takes place twice every 
year. The impurity and sins of the entire people are cleansed 
through a solemn prayer and ceremony. It recalls the Jewish scape- 
goat. But the ethical aspect is different; in contrast with the com- 
plex, already far advanced ethical conceptions and the rigorous idea 
of atonement in the later Jewish religion, here is still found a naive, 
simple, and childlike ethical thought with a like simple idea of atone- 
ment. In the primitive Shinto religion uncleanliness and sin are 
identical conceptions. 

Here we may find place for the table of the so-called heavenly 
sins and earthly sins from the old ritual of purification. 

1. The heavenly sins: 

Making of breaches in rice-field dams. 

Interfering with the irrigation of rice fields. 

Cranks interfering with agriculture. 

Skinning of live animals backward. 

Defiling ritually clean places with excrements. 

2. Earthly sins: 

Wounding of the body (because the blood was considered by the 
ancient Japanese unclean). 

Desecration of a corpse. 

Unusual bodily affections, such as albinism and excrescences. 

Incest and sodomy. 

Killing of other people’s animals. 

Witchcraft. 

Plagues inflicted by the gods as punishment, such as snake bites, 
lightning stroke, ete. 

This Shinto morality may be divided into three spheres: 

1. Morals in relation to common property, i. e., peasants’ morals. 

2. Morals of the ritual. 

3. The recoil from the unclean and unnatural, a genuine tabu 
morality. This constituted the origin of ritual morality. 

We do not meet with a morality in our sense; what we find is, 
however, not immorality, but childlike naiveté. But it can easily 


612 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


be seen that in aversion to the unclean and the abnormal, in conjunc- 
tion with the ritual morality, there lies the germ of the idea of evil 
which, when it implies a social morality, must bring about a full 
development of the idea of evil and with this also the problem of 
conscience. 

Like the morality, so the cult of Shintoism was also simple. Sim- 
plicity and cleanliness were always valued by it. Thus, its temple 
was and is exceedingly simple. This tendency to simplicity and 
cleanliness not infrequently led to conservatism. It was the con- 
stantly recurring endeavor of Shintoism to restore the so-called age 
of the gods, or at least to preserve as much as possible its form, man- 
ner, and custom. ’ 

The temple usually consists of two small houses. One, standing in 
front, is the prayer hall; the other is the sanctuary. The representa- 
tion of the god usually consists of a round mirror, but often also of 
a sword, a jewel, etc., which, according to tradition, originated in the 
age of the gods. Shintoism proper knows no images. Where such 
are found with it, it is due to foreign influence, particularly to the 
Hindu and Chinese. 


4. LATHER FORTUNES OF SHINTO. 


For a better understanding, there may be briefly mentioned in this 
connection some prominent facts from the history of Japan. 

In the fifth century Confucianism came from Korea to Japan. 
The Japanese gladly adopted continental culture and the Chinese 
characters (letters). Confucianism came in its simple form—as a 
code of morals, as the science of the state, as an educational force— 
and comported well with Shintoism. But when in the following 
century Buddhism entered, likewise from Korea, affairs in Japan 
were different. Very soon Buddhism, by reason of its profound doc- 
trines and the splendor of its cult, won the favor of some of the 
prominent courtiers. The chasm between Shintoism and Buddhism 
was too wide for a reconciliation between them; conflict was unavoid- 
able. As a religion Shintoism could not compare with Buddhism. 
Shintoism, notwithstanding its stubborn resistance, had to give way. 
But the triumph of Buddhism was not a complete one. The promi- 
nent Buddhists had to stoop to declare the native gods as manifesta- 
tions of the Buddha. Im this manner arose the so-called “ Riobu- 
Shinto ’—that is, the mixed Shinto. This condition continued for 
about a thousand years, to the injury of both religions. Only as late 
as the beginning of the eighteenth century did Shintoism begin to 
exhibit signs of a renewed life. But this movement was a theoretical 
one, called into life by certain scholars. Their war cry was: Back 
to the age of the gods, away from the foreign and alien influences and 
culture. Not only Buddhism, but Confucianism also, was violently 


SHIN TOISM—KANOKOGI. 613 


attacked. One of these scholars went so far as to even assert: “The 
ancient Japanese had no moral theory whatever, because they were 
in no need of one, since their natural disposition was moral, while 
the naturally wicked Chinese needed a moral system.” With the re- 
vival of Shintoism there appeared another powerful factor, the idea 
of the divine right of the imperial house. By emphasizing this idea 
this purely theoretical movement promoted the restoration of 1868. 


5. THE SOCIOLOGICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF 
SHINTOISM. 


After what has been said in the preceding pages, it must be ad- 
mitted that Shintoism represents rather a low stage of religion. It 
has in comparison, for instance, with Judaism, experienced but a 
slight development. Two reasons may be assigned for this fact: 
First, the Japanese were on the whole little exposed to external 
dangers in the struggle for existence. If religion is related to the 
preservation and expansion of life, it may be concluded that a people 
living in a continuously keen and perilous struggle for existence, 
and none the less able not only to preserve but also to expand its 
life, would also in its own way raise its religion to the highest degree 
of development. The Jewish people present a good instance. It 
lived in perpetual danger, and yet by dint of its wonderful vitality 
it was enabled not only to preserve its existence but also to be re- 
spected as a power. On the other hand, the Japanese as a whole 
were beset by little danger. Thus it came to pass that Shintoism was 
not hardened and strengthened as Judaism was. As a second rea- 
son for the slight development of Shintoism must be considered 
the intruding of agnostic Confucianism and pantheistic Buddhism. 
The native religion and the highly developed foreign religions dif- 
fered both in kind and in degree. One could not by degrees advance 
from Shintoism to Buddhism and Confucianism. A radical break 
was required. The religiously disposed minds abandoned their gods 
and followed the more profound and powerful teaching. Shintoism 
was forsaken by its best children and remained lonely and poor—a 
veritable mater dolorosa! 

Notwithstanding this, Shintoism has survived to the present day 
and still exhibits a certain vitality. This is a miracle. How, one 
might ask, can such an apparently low form of religion continue its 
very existence amidst a people that has been nourished on the lofty 
conceptions of life and the universe of Buddhism and on the pure and 
elevated morals of Confucianism? Shintoism is certainly a very 
remarkable religious and sociological phenomenon. 

But, as it has already been pointed out, Shintoism beheld in all 
the great, wonderful, mighty, and sublime phenomena of nature, as 
well as of man, its gods and worshipped them. Everything that was 


614 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


something more or had something more than the usual, whether a 
natural thing or a human being, was worshipped as a god. Shinto- 
ism is originally the religion of the “plus” (more). It was des- 
tined to comprise in itself the preservation and expansion of the 
national life. As such it has its roots deep in the dark soil of the 
instinctive, constantly expanding life. It grew up with the national | 
life. It is a real, germane child of the blood of the national life. 
Herein lies the difference between Shintoism and Judaism. The 
Jewish people were adopted by Jahveh, while the Japanese religion 
grew up from the very beginning with the people. Shintoism is no 
accession; it is interwoven with the life of the people. It exists 
among its people in a diffused, not concentrated manner. It is there- 
fore not noticed under usual circumstances. If Shintoism has any 
concern at all, it is the well-being of the nation in general. There- 
fore only in times of danger or of a crisis in national life is Shinto- 
ism seen in a pure form and with its original vitality. Patriotism is 
Shintoism’s own favorite child. To the Japanese patriotism means 
something more than it does to other peoples. Through its associa- 
tion with so many heroic and noble deeds and events which took place 
in the course of more than two millenniums patriotism gains a pro- 
found and exquisite, in short, a religious but not fanatical, signifi- 
cance. A few examples may illustrate this. 

It was immediately after the naval battle on the Sea of Japan that 
I, at that time a young lieutenant, asked one of my men: “ What 
have you been thinking of during the battle? Have you been afraid 
of death, or have you thought of it at all?” He answered: “ No, 
Lieutenant, I had no thought either of life or of death, nor any fear. 
One thought only was strong in me, and that was to do my duty 
perfectly, and the only fear that I had was that I might commit an 
error.” I observed through the simplicity of his narrative that he 
told what he really felt. This man saw in the service of the father- 
land all that was precious. The service of the fatherland was for 
him the highest worship. 

It was, if I remember aright, on the eve before the battle of Muk- 
den. An adjutant was looking for Gen. Kodama, chief of staff, to 
whom he had a message to deliver. The adjutant went into the 
quarters of the general, but the latter was not in. He looked for 
him through the entire camp, but the general was not to be seen. 
Finally, the adjutant going to the rear of the camp came to the 
woods, and-there he saw the general in the attitude of prayer, his 
face turned toward the setting sun. Later he was asked what he 
meant by all this, for he was supposed to be an educated atheist 
without religion. He answered simply: having done everything that 
in his opinion would assure victory, there remained nothing to be 
done but to invoke the help of the higher power. 


SHIN TOISM—KANOKOGI. 615 


In certain crises of life, when fate places before us an absolute 
demand, the fulfillment of which transcends our strength, man 
gathers up all his power and does what he can, He comes at the end 
of his strength; it does not reach further and still he hears the call 
of the absolute demand. The void stretches out all around him. 
The heavy atmosphere charged with the cold, silent, threatening fate 
weighs upon him. There is to be found no ladder, no wings to make 
use of; and yet this incessant resounding call of higher command! 
What remains for man to do but to cross the border line of his own 
strength and to invoke and appropriate unknown higher powers 
whether it be the cold, indifferent fate or sympathetic personal gods! 

Thus we have here the belief in higher powers—religion. The call 
of duty is heard outside, beyond; but it does not come from the out- 
side, but from within, from life itself. The demand has its root 
deep in life itself, hence its categorical imperative. 

From what has been said we may draw the conclusion that so long 
as the nations of the world compete with one another in raising 
armies and building navies, so long as mere might, violence, and 
brutality determine the fate of a nation—so long will Shintoism sur- 
vive and fulfill its task as the protecting genius of the people. 


* & * * * % * 


6. SHINTOISM MUST NOT BECOME A POSITIVE RELIGION. 


The influence of Shintoism on the Japanese Nation is a good one 
when as a force it is diffused through the life of the people, but 
would become fatal if it should be concentrated, fossilized as it were, 
and assume a definite, sharply defined form after the manner of 
other positive religions. Diffused, Shintoism is an active force im- 
pelling the nation forward, as an ardent love of the fatherland and 
of the whole. From this flow all virtues: altruism, sacrifice, loyality, 
etc. But concentrated it would become a contemptible chauvinism 
and turning its back on the whole would sink to a narrow provincial- 
ism, fettering the nation in its cultural endeavors and obstructing 
its onward and forward march. By this it would forfeit its mission 
and its life. For its lift—the longing for more—would be lost. 
It would thus sacrifice its most precious possession to a pitiful for- 
mula and commit a miserable suicide. It would be a corpse, loathing 
and noxious to the same people whose well-being was once its only 
concern. 


aamtis! oa sbi oe ceare seb 
at git onder sheaths bilins ity stew bey iE 
beflans bi anasto van. rolrtiod ‘cin ni downer 2 lee ry 

F a ae eithit ede 
reed: Soreitibeesinvod sali. aohy) fa 


Sarr sit pee aiiers dott eben | 
soma Sasi” Syarutivabs: (gtk) \ bhpate: atikiadret: ata 
Re ny a. teh grrudilltyss: haere ie oti Beg 
faiea bce" nel noggin 20100: ait ab pn ov heel ad 
Seals gl ek ci88 icin tinab etageiiont blames sath tenant poe yee 
Piavanlot? Adylin ysses giil-oz extras AiaN seth 
eS | pedinetuniete otek: ane 
fe St Cs Ae ine ae ad tt lle en TREE |S 
Bere pass ee ae a os Peg ts puta eh aay Sabie: ipa 
cs ae i ee ef an a " eect aca bots 8 
; Bit AQT, Hast SS HOS: i neceiee nO TM enone Biers age, 
heed fri i ele ean its gee ian vinnie tel 
qnsyy sat oil ging t. pao ob ei ame 
anh De bsktinnos ae a i st hints 1042 ee Sa 
apie Sirsa iit es Ne wae Ti 


pation tie pee na hieuslicy 237 at pollen atey 
oveahin'att oe wiih me genapir 
dol ok Shain —Saenite” figetol ‘9A —TTE Ne 

SOF tuibiicg” ‘e yet 
Ggietifinal aces ‘ 
ite. 4 Anh Te 


mp, pach ae Li Mea 3 RE eae ane ae py er 
be 4 ie fi aets hie wales bss. oe. ‘ae hea ee ee 
ad Gee een bie ‘Sy ire is oe Sot A — APS ‘aE ey, an , - 
pithol eehiaahac. He tiaaaeniee As, > lg rey 
8h aR Ras: 8a a PRs ‘thew ys anneal el 
erin: Specie a; chips em Vo eda pee 


THE MINOAN AND MYCENAEAN ELEMENT IN 
HELLENIC LIFE. 


By ArTHUR J. EVANS. 


[With 8 plates.] 


In his éoncluding address to this society our late president re- 
marked that he cared more for the products of the full maturity of 
the Greek spirit than for its immature struggles, and this preference 
for fruits over roots is likely to be shared by most classical scholars. 
The prehistoric civilization of the land which afterwards became 
Hellas might indeed seem far removed from the central interests of 
Greek culture, and it was only with considerable hesitation that I 
accepted, even for a while, the position in which the society has placed 
me. Yet I imagine that my presence in this chair is due to a feeling 
on its part that what may be called the embryological department has 
its place among our studies. 

Therefore I intend to take advantage of my position here to-day 
to say something in favor of roots, and even of germs. These are 
the days of origins, and what is true of the higher forms of animal 
life and functional activities is equally true of many of the vital 
principles that inspired the mature civilization of Greece—they can 
not be adequately studied without constant reference to their anterior 
stages of evolution. Such knowledge can alone supply the key to the 
root significance of many later phenomena, especially in the domain 
of art and religion. It alone can indicate the right direction along 
many paths of classical research. Amidst the labyrinth of conjecture 
we have here an Ariadné to supply the clue. And who, indeed, was 
Ariadné herself but the great goddess of Minoan Crete in her Greek 
adoptive form qualified as the most holy ? 

“The chasm,” remarks Prof. Gardner, “ dividing prehistoric from 
historic Greece is growing wider and deeper.”? In some respects 
perhaps—but looking at the relations of the two as a whole I venture 
to believe that the scientific study of Greek civilization is becoming 


1From the address of the president delivered to the Hellenic Society, June, 1912. 
Reprinted by permission from The Journal of Hellenic Studies, London, vol. 32, pt. 2, 
1912, pp. 277-297. 

Ate Eva ste SRL (OT) Sp. ix: 


617 


618 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


less and less possible without taking into constant account that of the 
Minoan and Mycenaean world that went before it. 

The truth is that the old view of Greek civilization as a kind of 
“enfant de miracle” can no longer be maintained. Whether they 
like it or not, classical students must consider origins. One after an- 
other the “ inventions ” attributed by its writers to the later Hellas 
are seen to have been anticipated on Greek soil at least a thousand 
years earlier. Take a few almost at random: The Aeginetan claim 
to have invented sailing vessels, when such already plowed the 
Aegean and the Libyan seas at the dawn of the Minoan age; the 
attribution of the great improvement in music, marked by the seven- 
stringed lyre, to Terpander of Lesbos in the middle of the seventh 
century B. C.—an instrument played by the long-robed Cretan priests 
of Hagia Triada some 10 centuries before, and, indeed, of far earher 
Minoan use. At least the antecedent stage of coinage was reached 
long before the time of Pheidon, and the weight standards of Greece 
were known ages before they received their later names. 

Let us admit that there may have been reinventions of lost arts. 
Let us not blink the fact that over a large part of Greece darkness for 
a time prevailed. Let it be assumed that the Greeks themselves were 
an intrusive people and that they finally imposed their language on 
an old Mediterranean race. But if, as I believe, that view is to be 
maintained it must yet be acknowledged that from the ethnic point 
of view the older elements largely absorbed the later. The people 
whom we discern in the new dawn are not the pale-skinned north- 
erners—the “ yellow-haired Achaeans” and the rest—but essentially 
the dark-haired, brown-complexioned race, the @oixec or “ Red 
men” of later tradition, of whom we find the earlier portraiture in 
the Minoan and Mycenaean wall paintings. The high artistic ca- 
pacities that distinguish this race are in absolute contrast to the pro- 
nounced lack of such a quality among the neolithic inhabitants of 
those more central and northern European regions, whence ex hy- 
pothesi the invaders came. But can it be doubted that the artistic 
genius of the later Hellenes was largely the continuous outcome of 
that inherent in the earlier race in which they had been merged? 
Of that earlier “ Greece before the Greeks” it may be said, as of the 
later Greece, capta ferum victorem cepit. 

It is true that the problem would be much simplified if we could 
accept the conclusion that the representatives of the earlier Minoan 
civilization in Crete and of its Mycenaean outgrowth on the mainland 
were themselves of Hellenic stock. In face of the now ascertained 
evidence that representatives of the Aryan-speaking race had already 
reached the Euphrates by the fourteenth century B. C. there is no 
a priori objection to the view that other members of the same lin- 
guistic group had reached the Aegean coasts and islands at an even 


MINOAN AND MYCENAEAN ELEMENT—EVANS. 619 


earlier date. If such a primitive occupation is not proved, it cer- 
tainly will not be owing to want of ingenuity on the part of inter- 
preters of the Minoan or connected scripts. The earliest of the Cre- 
tan hieroglyphs were hailed as Greek on the banks of the Mulde. 
Investigators of the Phaestos disk on both sides of the Atlantic have 
found an Hellenic key, though the key proves not to be the same, and 
as regards the linguistic forms unlocked it must be said that many of 
them represent neither historic Greek, nor any antecedent stage of it 
reconcilable with existing views as to the comparative grammar of 
the Indo-European languages.’ 
_ The Phaestos disk, indeed, if my own conclusions be correct, 
belongs rather to the eastern Aegean coast lands than to prehistoric 
Crete. As to the Minoan script proper in its most advanced types— 
the successive linear types A and B—my own chief endeavor at the 
present moment is to set out the whole of the really vast material in 
a clear and collective form. Even then it may well seem presump- 
tuous to expect that anything more than the threshold of systematic 
investigation will have been reached. Yet, if rumor speaks truly, 
the stray specimens of the script that have as yet seen the light have 
been amply sufficient to provide ingenious minds with a Greek—it is 
even whispered, an Attic—interpretation. For that it is not even 
necessary to wait for a complete signary of either of the scripts! 

For myself I can not say that I am confident of any such solution. 
To me at least the view that the Eteocretan population, who preserved 
their own language down to the third century before our era, spoke 
Greek in a remote prehistoric age is repugnant to the plainest dictates 
of common sense. What certain traces we have of the early race 
and language lead us in a quite different direction. It is not easy to 
recognize in this dark Mediterranean people, whose physical charac- 
teristics can be now carried back at least to the beginning of the 
second millennium before our era, a youthful member of the Aryan- 
speaking family. It is impossible to ignore the evidence supplied 
by a long series of local names which link on the original speech of 
Crete and of a large part of mainland Greece to that of the primitive 
Anatolian stock, of whom the Carians stand forth as, perhaps, the 
purest representatives. The name of Knossos itself, for instance, is 
distinctively Anatolian; the earlier name of Lyttos—Karnessopolis— 
contains the same element as Halikarnassos. But it is useless to 
multiply examples, since the comparison has been well worked out 
by Fick and Kretschmer and other comparative philologists. 

1] especially refer to some of the strange linguistic freaks of Dr. Hempl. Prof. A. 
Cuny has faithfully dealt with some of these in the Revue des Etudes Anciennes, T. XIV 


(1912), pp. 95, 96. The more plausible attempt of Miss Stawell leaves me entirely 
unconvinced, 


620 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


When we come to the religious elements the same Asianic relation- 
ship is equally well marked. The great goddess of Minoan Crete had 
sisters east of the Aegean even more long-lived than herself. The 
Korybantes and their divine child range in’the same direction, and 
the fetish cult of the double axe is inseparable from that of the 
Carian labrys which survived in the worship of the Zeus of 
Labraunda. 

Some of the most characteristic religious scenes on Minoan signets 
are most intelligible in the light supplied by cults that survived to 
historic times in the lands east of the Aegean. Throughout those re- 
gions we are confronted by a perpetually recurrent figure of a goddess 
and her youthful satellite—son or paramour, martial or effeminate 
by turns, but always mortal, and mourned in various forms. Attis, 
Adonis, or Thammuz, we may add the Ilian Anchises,' all had tombs 
within her temple walls. Not least, the Cretan Zeus himself knew 
death, and the fabled site of his monument on Mount Juktas proves 
to coincide with a votive shrine over which the goddess rather than 
the god originally presided. So too, on the Minoan and Mycenaean 
signets we see the warrior youth before the seated goddess, and in 
one case actually seem to have a glimpse of the “tomb” within its 
temenos. Beside it is hung up the little body shield, a mourning 
votary is bowed toward it, the sacred tree and pillar shrine of the 
goddess are hard by. In another parallel scene the female mourner 
lies prone above the shield itself, the divine connection of which is 
shown by the sacred emblems seen above, which combine the double 
axe and life symbol.? 

Doubtless some of these elements, notably in Crete, were absorbed 
by later Greek cult, but their characteristic form has nothing to do 
with the traditions of primitive Aryan religion. They are essentially 
non-Hellenic. 

An endeavor has been made, and has been recently repeated, to 
get over the difficulty thus presented by supposing that the culture 
exemplified by the Minoan palaces of Crete belongs to two stages, 
to which the names of “ Carian” and “Achaean” have been given. 
Rough and ready lines of division between “ older” and “ later” 
palaces have been laid down to suit this ethnographic system. It may 
be confidently stated that a fuller acquaintance with the archeological 
evidence is absolutely fatal to theories such as these. 

The more the stratigraphical materials are studied, and it is these 
that form our main scientific basis, the more manifest it appears that 


1‘*Tombs ” of Anchises—the baetylic pillar may also be regarded as sepulchral—were 
erected in many places, from the Phrygian Ida to the sanctuary of Aphrodite at Eryx. 

2See my ‘Mycenaean Tree and Pillar-Cult” (J. H..S., 1901), pp. 81, 83, and p. 79, 
fig. 53. 

3 Op. cit., p. 78, fig. 52. 


MINOAN AND MYCENAEAN ELEMENT—EVANS. 621 


while on the one hand the history of the great Minoan structures is 
more complicated than was at first realized, on the other hand the 
unity of that history, from their first foundation to their final over- 
throw, asserts itself with ever-increasing emphasis. The periods of 
destruction and renovation in the different palaces do not wholly 
correspond. Both at Knossos and at Phaestos, where the original 
buildings go back well nigh to the beginning of the middle Minoan 
age, there was a considerable overthrow at the close of the second 
middle Minoan period. Another catastrophe followed at Knossos at 
the end of the third middle Minoan period. At Phaestos, on the 
other hand, the second, and in that case the final, destruction took 
place in the first late Minoan period. The little palace of Hagia 
Triada, the beginnings of which perhaps synchronize with those of 
the second palace of Phaestos, was overthrown at the same time, but 
the Minoan sovereigns who dwelt in the later palace of Knossos seem 
to have thriven at the expense of their neighbors. Early in the 
second late Minoan period, when the rival seats were in ruins, the 
Knossian Palace was embellished by the addition of a new facade, on 
the central court of which the room of the throne is a marvelous sur- 
viving record. At the close of this second late Minoan age the palace 
of Knossos was finally destroyed. But the tombs of Zafer Papoura 
show that even this blow did not seriously break the continuity of 
local culture, and the evidence of a purely Minoan revival in the 
third late Minoan age is still stronger in the new settlement of Hagia 
Triada, which may claim the famous sarcophagus as its chief glory. 
There is no room for foreign settlement as yet in Crete, though the 
reaction of mainland Mycenzan influences made itself perceptible 
in the island * toward the close of the third late Minoan period. 
Here then we have a story of ups and downs of insular life and of 
internecine struggles like those that ruined the later cities of Crete, 
but with no general line of cleavage such as might have resulted from 
a foreign invasion. The epochs of destruction and renovation by no 


1 There is no foundation for the view that the later oblong structure at Hagia Triada is 
a megaron of mainland type. The mistake, as was pointed out by Noack (Ovalhaus und 
Palast in Kreta, p. 27, n. 24) and, as I had independently ascertained, was due to the 
omission of one of the three cross walls on the Italian plan. By the close of the Minoan 
age in Crete (L. M. III, 6) the mainland type of house seems to have been making its way 
in Crete. An example has been pointed out by Dr. Oelmann (Hin Achiiisches Herrenhaus 
auf Kreta, Jahrb. d. Arch. Inst. xxvii (1912), p. 38, seqq.) in a house of the reoccupation 
period at Gournia, though there is no sufficient warrant for calling it ‘““Achaean.” It is 
also worth observing that one of the small rooms into which the large ‘“‘ megaron” of the 
“Little Palace”? at Knossos was broken up in the reoccupation period has a stone-built 
oven or fireplace set up in one corner. This seems to represent a mainland innovation. 

* This concluding and very distinctive phase may be described as late Minoan III, b (see 
preceding note) and answers at Knossos to the period of reoccupation, L. M. ITI, a, being 
represented there by the cemetery of Zafer Papoura, which fills a hiatus on the palace 
site. Judging from figures on very late lentoid bead seals in soft material (steatite), the 
long tunic of mainland fashions was coming in at the very close of the Minoan age 
in Crete. 


622 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


means synchronize in different Minoan centers, but when we come to 
regard the remains themselves as stratified by the various catas- 
trophes it becomes evident that they are the results of a gradual 
evolution. There is no break. Alike in the architectural remains 
and in the internal decorations, in every branch of art the develop- 
ment is continuods; and though the division into distinct periods 
stratigraphically delimited is useful for purposes of classification, 
the style of one phase of Minoan culture shades off into that of 
another by imperceptible gradations. The same is true of the 
remains of the early Minoan periods that lie behind the age of 
palaces, and the unity of the whole civilization is such as almost to 
impose the conclusion that there was a continuity of race. If the 
inhabitants of the latest palace structures are to be regarded as 
“Achaeans,” the Greek occupation of Crete must, on this showing, be 
carried back to Neolithic times. A consequence of this conclusion— 
improbable in itself—would be that these hypothetical Greeks ap- 
proached their mainland seats from the south instead of the north. 

Who would defend such a view? Much new light has recently 
been thrown on the history of the mainland branch of the Minoan 
culture at Mycenae by the supplementary researches made under the 
auspices of the German Institute at Athens, at Tiryns, and Mycenae. 
It is now clear that the beginnings of this mainland plantation 
hardly go back beyond the beginning of the first late Minoan period— 
in other words, long ages of civilized life in Minoan Crete had pre- 
ceded the first appearances of this high early culture on the northern 
shores of the Aegean. From the first there seems to have been a 
tendency among the newcomers to adapt themselves to the somewhat 
rougher climatic conditions, and, no doubt in this connection, to 
adopt to a certain extent customs already prevalent among the in- 
digenous population. Thus we see the halls erected with a narrower 
front and a fixed hearth, and there is a tendency to wear long-sleeved 
tunics reaching almost to the knees. An invaluable record of the 
characteristic fashions of this Mycenaean branch has been supplied 
by the fresco fragments discovered at Tiryns from which, after long 
and patient study, Dr. Rodenwaldt has succeeded in reconstructing 
a series of designs." 

These frescoes are not only valuable as illustrations of Mycenaean 
dress but they exhibit certain forms of sport of which as yet ‘we 
have no record in Minoan Crete, but which seem to have had a vogue 
on the mainland side. The remains of an elaborate composition rep- 
resenting a boar hunt is the most remarkable of these, and though 
belonging to the later palace and to a date parallel with the third 
late Minoan period shows extraordinary vigor and variety. Cer- 


1In course of publication. 


MINOAN AND MYCENAEAN ELEMENT—EVANS. | 623 


tainly one of the most interesting features in this composition— 
thoroughly Minoan in spirit—is the fact that ladies take part in the 
hunt. They are seen driving to the meet in their chariots, and fol- 
lowing the quarry with their dogs. Atalanta has her Mycenaean 
predecessors, and the Kalydonian boar hunt itself may well repre- 
sent the same tradition as these Tirynthian wall paintings. 

But the point to which I desire to call your special attention is 
this: In spite of slight local divergences in the domestic arrange- 
ments or costume, the “ Mycenaean ” is only a provincial variant of 
the same “ Minoan” civilization. The house planning may be 
shghtly different, but the architectural elements down to the smallest 
details are practically the same, though certain motives of decora- 
tion may be preferred in one or the other area. The physical types 
shown in the wall paintings are indistinguishable. The religion is 
the same. We see the same nature goddess with her doves and pillar 
shrines; the same baetylic worship of the double axes; the same 
sacral horns; features which, as we now know, in Crete may be 
traced to the early Minoan age. The mainland script, of which the 
painted sherds of Tiryns have now provided a series of new exam- 
ples, is merely an offshoot of the earlier type of the linear script of 
Crete and seems to indicate a dialect of the same language. 

In the palace history of Tiryns and Mycenae we have evidence of 
the same kind of destruction and restoration that we see in the case 
of those of Minoan Crete. But here, too, there is no break whatever 
in the continuity of tradition, no trace of the intrusion of any alien 
element. It is a slow, continuous process of decay, and while at 
Tiryns the frescoes of the original building were replaced in the sec- 
ond palace by others in a slightly inferior style, those of the Palace 
of Mycenae, to a certain extent at least, as Dr. Rodenwaldt has 
pointed out, survived its later remodeling, and were preserved on 
its walls to the moment of its destruction. 

The evidence as a whole must be regarded as conclusive for the 
fact that the original Minoan element, the monuments of which ex- 
tend from the Argolid to Thebes, Orchomenos, and Volo, held its own 
in mainland Greece till the close of the period answering to the third 
_ date Minoan in Crete. At this period no doubt the center of gravity 
of the whole civilization had shifted to the mainland side, and was 
now reacting on Crete and the islands—where, as in Melos, the dis- 
tinctive “ Mycenaean ” megaron makes its appearance. But the re- 
turn wave of influence can not, in the light of our present knowledge, 
be taken to mark the course of invading hordes of Greeks. 

Observe, too, that in the late Minoan expansion which takes place 
about this time on the coasts of Canaan the dominant element still 
seems to have belonged to the old Aegean stock. The settlement of 
Gaza is “ Minoan.” Its later cult was still that of the indigenous 


624 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913, 


Cretan god. In Cyprus, again, the first Aegean colonists brought — 
with them a form of the Minoan linear script, and a civilization 
which sufficiently proclaims their identity with the older stock. 

We must clearly recognize that down to at least the twelfth century 
before our era the dominant factor both in mainland Greece and in 
the Aegean world was still non-Hellenic, and must still unquestion- 
ably be identified with one or other branch of the old Minoan race. 
But this is far from saying that even at the time of the first appear- 
ance of the Minoan conquerors in the Peloponnese, or, approximately 
speaking, the sixteenth century B. C., they may not have found 
settlers of Hellenic stock already in the land. That there were hostile 
elements always at hand is clearly shown by the great pains taken by 
the newcomers at Tiryns, Mycenae, and elsewhere to fortify their 
citadels, a precaution which stands out in abrupt contrast to the open 
cities and palaces of Crete. In the succeeding period, that of the later 
Palace of Tiryns, we find on the frescoes representing the boar-hunt- 
ing scene—dating perhaps from the thirteenth century B. C.—the 
first definite evidence of the existence of men of another and presum- 
ably subject race existing side by side with the Mycenaean. An at- 
tendant in a menial position, apparently helping to carry a dead 
boar, is there depicted with a yellow skin in place of the conventional 
red, which otherwise indicates the male sex. Is it possible that the 
paler color was here chosen to indicate a man of northern race? 

That there was in fact in the Peloponnese a subject race of Hellenic 
stock during the whole or a large part of the period of Mycenaean 
domination is made highly probable by certain phenomena con- 
nected with the most primitive of the Greek tribes, namely the 
Arcadians, whose religion and mythology show peculiar aflinities 
with those of Minoan Crete. Shortly after the break up of the 
Mycenaean society, during the period of invasion and confusion that 
seems to have set in about the eleventh century B. C., men of Arca- 
dian speech (who must then have been in possession of the Laconian 
coast lands) appear in Cyprus in the wake of their former masters, 
and this Cypriote offshoot affords the best evidence of the extent to 
which this primitive Greek population had been penetrated with 
Minoan influences. The very remote date of this settlement is estab- 
lished by the important negative fact that the colonists had left their 
mainland homes before the use of the Phcenician alphabet was 
known in Greece. Considering the very early forms of that alphabet 
at the time when it was first taken over by the Greeks, this negative 
phenomenon may be taken to show that the Arcadian colonization of 
Cyprus took place before 900 B. C. The positive evidence seems 
to indicate a still higher date. Thus the fibulae and vases of the early 
tombs of the Kuklia Cemetery at Paphos show a distinct parallelism 


MINOAN AND MYCENAEAN ELEMENT—EVANS. 625 


with the sub-Mycenaean types from those of the Greek Salamis, and 
point to an impact on Cyprus from the mainland side about the 
eleventh century before our era, which may well have been due to 
the advent of the Pre-Dorian colonists from the Laconian shores. 
These, as we know from inscriptions, brought with them local cults, 
such as that of Amyklae; but what is especially interesting to observe 
is the whole-hearted way in which they are seen to have taken over 
the leading features of the Minoan cult. Fanassa, the Queen, the 
Lady of the Dove, as we see her at Paphos, Idalion or Golgoi, is the 
great Minoan goddess. The Paphian temple to the end of the chap- 
ter is the Minoan pillar shrine. Were all these Minoan features taken 
over in Cyprus itself? May we not rather infer that, as the colonists 
arrived, with at least a sub-Mycenaean element in culture, so too they 
had already taken over many of the religious ideas of the older race 
in their mainland home? In the epithet “Ariadné” itself, applied 
to the goddess both in Crete and Cyprus, we may perhaps see an 
inheritance from a pre-colonial stage. 

In Crete, where Hellenic colonization had also effected itself in pre- 
Homeric times, the survival of Minoan religion was exceptionally 
great. The nature goddess there lived on under the indigenous 
names of Diktynna and Britomartis. A remarkable example of the 
continuity of cult forms has been brought to light by the Italian 
excavation of a seventh century temple at Prinia, containing clay 
images of the goddess with snakes coiled round her arms, showing a 
direct derivation from similar images in the late Minoan shrine of 
Gournia and the fine faience figures of considerably earlier date 
found in the temple repositories at Knossos. At Hagia Triada the 
earlier sanctuary was surmounted by one of Hellenic date, in which, 
however, the male divinity had now attained prominence as the 
youthful Zeus Velchanos. As Zeus Kretagenes, he was the object 
of what was regarded in other parts of the Greek world as a hetero- . 
dox cult. But in spite of the jeers of Kallimachos at the “ Cretan 
lars” who spoke of Zeus as mortal, the worship persisted to late 
classical times and points of affinity with the Christian point of view 
were too obvious to be lost. It is at least a highly suggestive fact 
that on the ridge of Juktas, where the tomb of Zeus was pointed out 
to Byzantine times and on a height above his birth cave little shrines 
have been raised in honor of Avdevtij¢ Xpcotoc—Christ, the Lord. 

In view of the legendary connection of Crete and Delphi, illus- 
trated by the myth of the Delphian Apollo, the discovery there by the 
French excavators of part of a Minoan ritual vessel has a quite spe- 
cial significance. This object, to which M. Perdrizet first called at- 
tention, forms part of a marble rhyton in the form of a lioness’s head 
of the same type, fabric, and material as those found with other 


44863°—sM 1913——40 


626 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1918. 


sacred vessels in a chamber adjoining the central shrine of Knossos. 
It clearly proves that at Delphi, too, the religion of the spot goes 
back to Minoan times and stands in close connection with a Cretan 
settlement. 

How profoundly the traditions of Minoan and Mycenaean religion 
influenced the early cult of Greece has been nowhere illustrated more 
clearly than by the excavations of the British school at Sparta. A 
whole series of the types of ivory figurines there found are simply 
derivatives of the scheme of the Minoan goddess with her associated 
birds and animals. It was the same in Ionia. The Ephesian Arte- 
mis has the same associations as the lion goddess of Knossos, and 
among the jewels found by Mr. Hogarth in the Temple Treasure 
occur miniature representations of her double axe. 

T will venture to point out another feature which the advanced 
religious art of Greece inherited from Minoan prototypes, such as 
those which influenced the Spartan ivories. The lions’ gate scheme, 
appropriate to its position in a tympanum, is only one of a series 
of Late Minoan schemes of the same kind in which the central fig- 
ure—either the divinity itself or (as in the above case) a sacred col- 
umn, which as the pillar of the house, stands as the epitome of the 
temple—is set between two heraldically opposed animals. 

Seal impressions from the palace shrine of Knossos show the 
Minoan goddess in this guise standing on her peak between her lion 
supporters. The same idea is carried out in a variety of ways on 
Minoan gems and signets. 

The Mycenaean element in Doric architecture itself is generally 
recognized, but I do not think that it has been realized that even the 
primitive arrangement of the pediment sculptures goes back to a pre- 
historic model. That the gabled or pedimental front was itself 
known in Minoan times may be gathered from the designs of build- 
ings on some intaglios of that date acquired by me in Crete (fig. 1 
a, b).1. When we realize that the pediment is in fact the functional 
equivalent of the tympanum on a larger scale, it is natural that an ar- 
rangement of sculpture appropriate to the one should have been 
adapted to the other. 

In recently examining the remains of the pedimental sculptures 
from the early temple excavated by Dr. Dérpfeld at Palaeopolis in 
Corfi, which have now been arranged by him in the local museum 
(fig. 2),? the observation was forced upon me that the essential fea-. 
tures of the whole scheme were simply those of the Mycenaean tym- 
panum. The central divinity is here represented by the Gorgon, but 
on either side are the animal guardians, in this case apparently pards, 

1The gem fig. la is from Central Crete (steatite). 1b is from Siteia (cornelian). 


2Vig. 2 is taken from a diagrammatic sketch kindly supplied me by Mr. J. D. Bourchier, 
which accompanied his account of these discoveries in the Times. 


MINOAN AND MYCENAEAN ELEMENT—EVANS. 627 


heraldically posed. Everything else is secondary, and the scale of 
the other figures is so small that at a moderate distance, all includ- 
ing Zeus himself, disappear from view. The essentials of the 
architectural design were fulfilled by the traditional Minoan group. 
The rest was a work of supererogation. 

The fragment of a sculptured hon found in front of the early sixth 
century temple at Sparta was clearly part of a pedimental scheme 
of the same traditional class. 

The extent to which the Minoans and Mycenaeans, while still in a 
dominant position, impressed their ideas and arts on the primitive 
Greek population itself argues a long juxtaposition of the two ele- 
ments. The intensive absorption of Minoan religious practices by 
the proto-Arcadians previous to their colonization of Cyprus, which 
itself can hardly be later than the eleventh century B. C., is a crucial 
instance of this, and the contact of the two elements thus involved 
itself implies a certain linguistic communion. When, reinforced by 
fresh swarms of immigrants from the northwest, the Greeks began 
to get the upper hand, the position was reversed, but the long previ- 
ous interrelation of the two races must have facilitated the work of 
fusion. In the end, though the language was Greek, the physical 
characteristics of the later Hellenes prove that the old Mediter- 
ranean element showed the greater vitality. But there is one aspect 
of the fusion which has a special bearing on the present subject—an 
aspect very familiar to those who, like myself, have had experience 
of lands where nationalities overlap. <A large part of its early popu- 
lation must have passed through a bilingual stage. In the eastern 
parts of Crete indeed this condition long survived. As late as the 
fourth century before our era the inhabitants still clung to their 
Kteocretan language, but we know from Herodotos that already 
in his day they were able to converse in Greek and to hand on their 
traditions in a translated form. It can not be doubted that at the 
dawn of history the same was true of the Peloponnese and other 
parts of Greece. This consideration does not seem to have been 
sufficiently realized by classical students, but it may involve results 
of a most far-reaching kind. 

The age when the Homeric poems took their characteristic shape is 
the transitional epoch when the use of bronze was giving place to that 
of iron. As Mr. Andrew Lang well pointed out, they belong to a 
particular phase of this transition when bronze was still in use for 
weapons and armor, but iron was already employed for tools and im- 
plements. In other words the age of Homer is more recent than 
the latest stage of anything that can be called Minoan or Mycenaean. 
It is at most “sub-Mycenaean.” It lies on the borders of the geo- 
metrical period, and though the archeological stratum with which 
it is associated contains elements that may be called “ sub-Myce- 


628 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


naean,” it is, artistically speaking, a period of barbarism and degra- 
dation—a period when the great cities of whose rulers the poet sang 
had for some two centuries been heaps of ruins. The old art had 
passed away. The new was yet unborn. 

“Homer ” lies too high up in time for it to be admissible to seek 
for illustration among the works of renascent art in Greece, or the 
more or less contemporary importations, such as Cypro-Pheenician 
bowls of the seventh or sixth centuries B. C., once so largely drawn 
on for comparison. On the other hand, the masterpieces of Minoan 
and Mycenaean craftsmen were already things of the past in the days 
in which the Iliad and Odyssey took their organic form. Even the 
contents of the latest Mycenaean graves have nothing to do with a 
culture in which iron was already in use for cutting purposes and 
cremation practiced. 

How is it, then, that Homer, though professedly commemorating 
the deeds of Achaean heroes, is able to picture them among surround- 
ings which, in view of the absolute continuity of Minoan and Myce- 
naean history, we may now definitely set down as non-Hellenic? 
How explain the modes of combat borrowed from an earlier age and 
associated with huge body shields that had long been obsolete. 
Whence this familiarity with the court of Mycenae and the domestic 
arrangements of palaces that were no more? 

I venture to believe that there is only one solution of these grave 
difficulties, and that this is to be found in the bilingual conditions 
which in the Peloponnese, at least, may have existed for a very con- 
siderable period. The Arcadian-speaking Greek population of that 
area, which apparently, at least as early as the eleventh century, be- 
fore our era sent forth its colonists to Cyprus, had, as pointed out, 
been already penetrated with Minoan ideas to an extent which in- 
volves a long previous juxtaposition with the element that formerly 
dominated the country. They had assimilated a form of Minoan 
worship, and the hymns and invocations to the Lady of the Dove can 
hardly have been other than adaptations of those in use in the 
Mycenaean ritual—in the same way as the Greek hymn of the 
Dictaean Temple must be taken to reflect an original handed down 
by Eteocretan choirs. 

We may well ask whether a far earlier heroic cycle of Minoan 
origin might not to a certain extent have affected the lays of the 
primitive Greek population. When, in a bilingual medium, the pres- 
sure of Greek conquest turned the scales finally on the Hellenic side, 
may not something of the epic traditions of the Mycenaean society 
have been taken over? Englishmen, at least, who realize how largely 
Celtic and Romance elements bulk in their national poetry should 
be the last to deny such a possibility. Have we not, indeed, the 
proof of it in many of the themes of the Homeric lays, as already 


MINOAN AND MYCENAEAN ELEMENT 


EVANS. 629 


pointed out? They largely postulate a state of things which on the 
mainland of Greece existed only in the great days of Mycenae. 

In other words, many of the difficulties with which we have to 
deal are removed if we accept the view that a considerable element in 
the Homeric poems represents the materials of an earlier Minoan 
epic taken over into Greek. The molding of such inherited materials 
into the new language and the adapting of them to the glories of the 
new race was no doubt a gradual process, though we may still regard 
the work in its final form as bearing the stamp of individual genius. 
To take a comparison from another field, the arch of Constantine is 
still a fine architectural monument, though its dignity be largely due 
to the harmonious incorporation of earlier sculptures. Not less does 
Homer personify for us a great literary achievement, though the 
materials that have been brought together belong to more than one 
age. There is nothing profane in the idea that actual translation, 
perhaps of a very literal kind, from an older Minoan epic to the 
new Achaean, played a considerable part in this assimilative process. 
The seven-stringed lyre itself was an heirloom from the older race. 
Is it, then, unreasonable to believe that the lays by which it was 
accompanied were inspired from the same quarter ? 

And here we are brought up before an aspect of Minoan art which 
may well stand in relation to the contemporary oral or literary com- 
positions covering part of the Homeric ground. The Homeric aspect 
of some of its masterpieces has indeed been so often observed as to 
have become a commonplace. In some cases parts of pictorial scenes 
are preserved, such as primitive bards delight to describe in connec- 
tion with works of art. The fragment of the silver vase with the 
slege scene from Mycenae affords a well-known instance of this. 
A similar topic is discernible in the shield of Achilles, but in this 
case a still nearer parallel is supplied by the combat on the shield 
of Heraklés, described by Hesiod. Here the coincidence of subject 
extends even to particular details, such as the women on the towers 
shouting with shrill voices and tearing their cheeks and the old men 
assembled outside the gates, holding out their hands in fear for 
their children fighting before the walls. The dramatic moment, the 
fate of battle still hanging in the balance—so alien to oriental art—is 
equally brought out by the Mycenaean relief and by the epic descrip- 
tion of the scene on the shield, and the parallelism is of special value, 
since it may be said to present itself in pari materia—artistic compo- 
sition on metal work. 

So too at Knossos there came to light parts of a mosaic composi- 
tion formed of faience plaques, and belonging to the latter part of the 
middle Minoan age. Parts of the composition, of which we have a 


VAoric, VV. 237 seqg. Cf. Fsuntas, ’E¢. ’Aoz., 1891, pp. 20, 21, and Muxiva, p. 94 (Tsuntas and Manatt, 
Myc. Age, pp. 214, 215). 


630 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


fragmentary record, represent warriors and a city, like the siege 
scene on the silver cup. But we also have glimpses of civic life within 
the walls, of goats and oxen without, of fruit trees and running 
water suggesting a literal comparison with the Homeric description 
of the scenes of peace and war as illustrated on the shield of Achilles. 
These tours de force of Minoan artists were executed some five cen- 
turies before the Homeric poems took shape. They may either have 
inspired or illustrated contemporary epic. But if Greeks existed in 
the Peloponnese at the relatively early epoch, the close of the middle 
Minoan age or the very beginning of the late Minoan, to which these 
masterpieces belong, they must still have been very much in the back- 
ground. They did not surely come within that inner palace circle 
of Tiryns and Mycenae, where such works were handled and admired 
in the spirit (with which we must credit their possessors) of culti- 
vated connoisseurs. Still less is it possible to suppose that any 
Achaean bard at the time when the Homeric poems crystallized into 
their permanent shape had such life-like compositions before his eye 
or could have appreciated them in the spirit of their creation. 

Again we have the remarkable series of scenes of heroic combat 
best exemplified by the gold signets and engraved beads of the shaft 
graves of Mycenae—themselves no doubt, as in lke cases, belonging 
to an artistic cycle exhibiting similar scenes on a more ample scale, 
such as may some day be discovered in wall paintings or larger re- 
liefs on metal or other materials. Schliemann,’ whose views on 
Homeric subjects were not perturbed by chronological or ethnographic 
diserepancies, had no difficulty in recognizing among the personages 
depicted on these intaglios Achilles or “ Hector of the dancing hel- 
met crest,” and could quote the Homeric passages that they illus- 
trated. “The author of the Iliad and Odyssey ” he exclaims, “ can 
not but have been born and educated amidst a civilization which was 
able to produce such works as these.” Destructive criticism has since 
endeavored to set aside the cogency of these comparisons by pointing 
out that, whereas the Homeric heroes wore heavy bronze armor, the 
figures on the signet are almost as bare as were, for instance, the 
ancient Gaulish warriors. But an essential consideration has been 
overlooked. The signets and intaglios of the shaft graves of Mycenae 
belong to the transitional epoch that marks the close of the third 
middle Minoan period, and the very beginning of the late Minoan 
age.” The fashion in signets seems to have subsequently undergone 


1In the same way epitomized versions of the scenes on the Vapheio cups are found in a 
series of ancient gems. The taurokathapsia of the Knossos frescoes also reappears in 
intaglios, and there are many other similar hints of the indebtedness of the minor to the 
greater art, of which the “ Skylla”’ mentioned below is probably an example. 

2The curious cuirass, which has almost the appearance of being of basket work, seen 
on the harvesters’ vase and on seal impressions from H. Triada and Zakro has been cited 
as showing that the corselet was known at a very early period (M. M. III, L.M.1). This 
particular type, however, has as yet been only found in connection with religious or cere- 
monial scenes and not in association with arms of offense. 


MINOAN AND MYCENAEAN ELEMENT—EVANS. 631 


a change, and the later class is occupied with religious subjects. But 
in the later days of the Palace of Knossos at all events, a series of 
clay documents attests the fact that a bronze cuirass, with shoulder- 
pieces and a succession of plates, was a regular part of the equipment 
of a Minoan knight. Sometimes he received the equivalent in the 
shape of a bronze ingot or talent—a good suggestion of its weight. 
On the somewhat later Cypro-Mycenaean ivory relief from Enkomi 
(where bronze greaves were also found) we see a similar cuirass.? 
This comparison has special pertinence when we remember that in the 
Iliad the breastplate of Agamemnon was the gift of the Cypriote 
Kinyras. 

' A close correspondence can moreover be traced between the My- 
cenaean and Homeric methods and incidents of combat due to the 
use of the tall body shield—which itself had long gone out of use at 
the time when the Iliad was put together. One result of this was 
the practice of striking at the adversary’s throat as Achilles did at 
Hector’s—an action illustrated by the gold intaglio from the third 
shaft grave. On the other hand the alternative endeavor of Epic 
heroes to pierce through the “towerlike ” shield itself by a mighty 
spear thrust is graphically represented on the gold bezel of a My- 
cenaean ring found in Boeotia.2 The risk of stumbling involved by 
the use of these huge body shields is exemplified in Homer by the 
fate of Periphétés of Mycenae, who tripped against the rim of his 
shield, “reaching to his feet,” and was pierced through the breast 
by Hector’s spear as he fell backward.* A remarkable piece of evi- 
dence to which I shall presently call attention shows that this par- 
ticular scene seems to have formed part of the repertory of the en- 
gravers of signets for Minoan lords, and that the Homeric episode 
may have played a part in Chansons de Geste as early as the date 
of the Akropolis tombs of Mycenae.* 

Can it indeed be believed that these scenes of knightly prowess on 
the Mycenaean signets, belonging to the very house of Agamemnon, 
have no connection with the epic that glorified him in later days? 
Much may be allowed for variation in the details of individual epi- 
sodes, but who shall deny that Schlemann’s persuasion of their essen- 


1] may refer to my remarks on this in “* Mycenaean Cyprus as illustrated by the 
British Museum Excavations’? (Journ. Anthr, Inst. vol. 30, 1900, pp. 209, seqq., and see 
especially p. 213), The round targe was now beginning. 

2JIn the Ashmolean Museum; as yet unpublished. 

STl.,, XV, 645 seqq. 

*TI note that Prof. Gilbert Murray, who seems to regard the cuirass as a late element, 
still sums up his views regarding the armor and tactics of the Homeric poems as follows: 
“The surface speaks of the late Ionian fighting, the heart of the fighting is Mycenaean ”’ 
(The Rise of the Greek Epic, p. 140). This latter point is the gist of the whole matter. 
But it is difficult to accept the view that the cultural phase represented by the Homeric 
poems in their characteristic shape is “late Ionian.’ ‘The “‘ late Ionians’”’ no longer used 
bronze for their weapons. Moreover, they were well acquainted with writing and wore 
signet rings. 


632 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


tial correspondence was not largely justified? Take the celebrated 
design on the signet ring from the fourth shaft grave, in which a 
hero, apparently in defense of a fallen warrior, strikes down his 
assailant, whose half-retreating comrade, covered behind by a large 
body shield, aims his spear apparently without effect at the victorious 
champion. Save that in the case of the protagonist a spear is sub- 
stituted for a thrusting sword, and that the fallen figure behind the 
champion is that of a wounded man who still has strength to raise 
himself on one arm, the scene curiously recalls, even in its details, an 
episode of the Seventeenth Book of the Iliad. There the Telamonian 
Ajax, standing before Patroklos’s body, strikes down Hippothoos, 
while Hector behind hurls his spear at Ajax, but just misses his aim. 

Much might be added about these pre-Homeric illustrations of 
Homer, but I will confine myself here to one more example. In the 
temple repositories of the Palace of Knossos, dating from about 1600 
B. C., was found a clay seal impression exhibiting a sea monster with 
a doglike head rising amidst the waves attacking a boat on which is 
seen a man beating it off with an oar (fig. 8). But this sea monster 
is a prototype of Skylla, and though her dogs’ heads were multiplied 
by Homer’s time, we have here, in the epitomized manner of gem 
engraving, the essentials of Ulysses’s adventure depicted half a mil- 
lenium, at least, before the age of the Greek epic. It would appear, 
moreover, that the same episode was made the subject of illustration 
in larger works of Minoan art, accompanied, we may suppose, with 
further details. A fragment of a wall painting found at Mycenae 
shows part of a monster’s head in front of a curving object, recalling 
the stern of the vessel on the seal impression; and Dr. Studniczka 
has with great probability recognized in this a pictorial version of the 
same design. 

But, over and above such correspondence in the individual episodes 
and the detailed acquaintance with the material equipment of Minoan 
civilization, the Homeric poems themselves show a deep community 
with the naturalistic spirit that pervades the whole of the best Mi- 
noan art. It is a commonplace observation that the Homeric similes 
relating to animals recall the representations on the masterpieces of 
Minoan art. In both cases we have the faithful record of eyewit- 
nesses, and when in the Iliad we are presented with a lifelike picture 
of a lion fastening on to the neck of a steer or roused to fury by a 
hunter’s spear we turn for its most vivid illustration to Minoan gems. 

In the transitional epoch that marks the close of the age of bronze 
in Greece and the Aegean lands the true art of gem engraving was 
nonexistent,? and so, too, in the Homeric poems there is no mention 


1See my Report, B. S. A., No. IX, p. 58. 
2Rudely scratched seal stones of early Geometric date exist, but they are of soft 
materials. 


MINOAN AND MYCENAEAN ELEMENT—EVANS. 633 


either of intaglos and signet rings. Yet in the Odyssey just such 
a scene of animal prowess as formed the theme of so many Minoan 
gems, a hound holding with teeth and forepaws a struggling fawn, 
is described as the ornament of Ulysses’s golden brooch. The an- 
achronism here involved has been met by no Homeric commentator, 
for we now know the fibula types of the Aegean “ Chalco-siderie 
age” if I may coin such a word—to which the poems belong, with 
their inartistic bows and stilts and knobs. It is inconceivable, even 
did their typical forms admit of it, that any one of these could have 
been equipped with a naturalistic adjunct of such a kind. The sug- 
gested parallels have, in fact, been painfully sought out amongst the 
fashions in vogue three or four centuries later than the archeological 
epoch marked by the Homeric poems.’ As if such naturalistic com- 
positions had anything in common with the stylized mannerisms of 
the later Ionian art, with its sphinxes and winged monsters and 
mechanically balanced schemes. 

Must we not rather suppose that the decorative motive here applied 
to Ulysses’s brooch was taken over from what had been the principal 
personal ornaments of an earlier age, when in Greece at least fibule 
were practically unknown,? namely, the perforated intaglios, worn 
generally as periapts about the wrist. An example of one such from 
eastern Crete with a scene singularly recalling the motive of the 
brooch is seen in figure 4. It would not have required much license 
on the poet’s part to transfer the description of such a design to a 
personal ornament of later usage with which he was acquainted. 
But the far earlier associations of the design are as patent to the eye 
of the archeologist as are those of a classical gem set in a medieval 
reliquary. 

When in the days of the later epos we recognize heroic scenes 
already depicted by the Minoan artists and episodes instinct with the 


+ Helbig, for instance (Hom. Epos, p. 277), finds a comparison in a type of gold fibule, 
with double pins and surmounted by rows of gold sphinxes from seventh or sixth century 
graves of Caere and Praeneste. Ridgeway (The Early Age of Greece, I, 446) cites in the 
same connection “‘ brooches in the form of dogs and horses found at Hallstatt.’’ The best 
representative of the “ dog” brooches of this class seem to be those from the cemetery of 
S$. Lucia in Carniola (Marchisetti, Necropoli di S. Lucia, presso Tolmino, Tay. XV, figs. 
9, 10), where in each case a small bird is seen in front of the hound. A somewhat more 
naturalistic example gives the key to this; the original of the dog is a catlike animal 
(op. cit., Tav. XX, fig. 12). We have here, in fact, a subject ultimately derived from the 
Nilotie scenes, in which ichneumons are seen hunting ducks. The same motive is very 
literally reproduced on the inlaid dagger blade from Mycenae and recurs in variant forms 
in Minoan art. The late Hallstatt fibule of this class are obviously the derivatives of 
classical prototypes belonging to the seventh century B. C. (In one case a winged sphinx 
takes the place of the cat, or pard, before the bird.) These derivatives date themselves 
from the sixth and even the fifth century B. C., since the last-named example was found 
together with a fibula of the ‘‘ Certosa”’ class. The S. Lucia cemetery itself, according 
to its explorer (op. cit., p. 313), dates only from about 600 B. C. It will be seen from 
this how little these late Hallstatt “dog” fibule have to do with the design of Ulysses’s 
brooch. 

2The early ‘ fiddle-bow ” type is hardly found before the L. M. III period, when the 
art of gem engraving was already in its decline. 


634 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


naturalistic spirit of that brilliant dawn of art, we may well ask how, 
according to any received theory, such perfect glimpses into the life of 
that long-past age could have been preserved. The detailed nature of 
many of the parallels excludes the idea that we have here to do with 
the fortuitous working of poets’ imagination. We are continually 
tempted to ask, could such descriptive power in poetry go side by 
side with its antithesis in art, the degraded, conventional art of the 
period in which the Homeric epos took its final form ? 

But if a combination of such contradictory qualities seems in the 
highest degree improbable, how are we to explain this phenomenon ? 
By what means could this undimmed reflection of a pure, great age 
have been perpetuated and preserved ? 

Only in one way, I again repeat, could such passages, presenting 
the incidents and life of the great days of Mycenae and instinct with 
the peculiar genius of its art, have been handed down intact. They 
were handed down intact because they were preserved in the em- 
balming medium of an earlier epos—the product of that older non- 
Hellenic race to whom alike belong the glories of Mycenae and of 
Minoan Crete. Thus only could the iridescent wings of that earlier 
phantasy have maintained their pristine form and hues through days 
of darkness and decline to grace the later, Achaean world. 

Where, indeed, would be the fly without the amber? How could 
the gestes and episodes of the Minoan age have survived for incor- 
poration in later epic lays without the embalming element supplied 
by a more ancient poetic cycle? But the taking over and absorption 
of these earlier materials would be greatly simplified by the existence 
of such bilingual conditions as have been above postulated. The 
process itself may have begun very early, and the long contact of the 
Arcadian branch, whose language most approaches the original 
speech of Greek epic with the dominant Mycenaeans may have greatly 
contributed to its elaboration. Even in its original Minoan elements, 
moreover, we may expect stratification—the period, for instance, of 
the body shield and the period of the round targe and cuirass may 
have both left their mark. 

The Homeric poems in the form in which they finally took shape 
are the result of this prolonged effort to harmonize the old and the 
new elements. In the nature of things this result was often incom- 
pletely attained. The evidence of patchwork is frequently patent. 
Contradictory features are found such as could not have coexisted at 
any one epoch. It has been well remarked by Prof. Gilbert Murray * 
that “even the similes, the very breath of the poetry of Homer, are 
in many cases—indeed, usually—adopted ready-made. Their vivid- 


i The Rise of the Greek Epic, p. 219. Prof. Murray remarks (op. cit., p. 215): “‘ The 
poets of our ‘Iliad’ scarcely need to have seen a lion. They have their stores of tradi- 
tional similes taken from almost every moment of a lion’s life.” 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Evans. PLATE 1. 


(a) (b) 


Fia. 1.—GABLED BUILDINGS ON CRETAN INTAGLIOS (3). 


Fic. 2.—PEDIMENT OF TEMPLE AT PALAEOPOLIS, CORFU. 


FIG. 3.—CLAY SEALING FROM TEMPLE REPOSITORIES, FIG. 4.—HAEMATITE INTAGLIO FROM 
KNossos (7) (B.S.A. IX. P. 50, Fic. 36). E. CRETE WITH DOG SEIZING 
STAG (3). 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Evans. PLATE 2. 


Fics. 5¢-5b.—GREEK SIGNET RINGS WITH SILVER 
Hoops AND IvorRY BEZELS FOUND IN CRETE (3). 


MINOAN AND MYCENAEAN ELEMENT—EVANS. 635 


ness, their directness of observation, their air of freshness and spon- 
taneity are all deceptive.” Many of them are misplaced and “were 
originally written to describe some quite different occasion.” 

Much has still to be written on the survival of Minoan elements in 
almost every department of the civilized life of later Greece. Apart, 
moreover, from oral tradition we have always to reckon with the 
possibility of the persistence of literary records. For we now know 
that an advanced system of linear script was in vogue not only in 
Crete but on the mainland side in the latest Mycenaean period.’ 

Besides direct tradition, however, there are traces of a process of 
another kind for which the early renaissance in Italy affords a strik- 
ing analogy. In later classical days some of the more enduring 
examples of Minoan art, such as engraved gems and signets, were 
actually the subjects of a revival. I venture to think that it can 
hardly be doubted that a series of early Greek coin types are taken 
from the designs of Minoan intaglios. Such very naturalistic designs 
as the cow scratching its head with its hind leg or licking its flank 
or the calf that it suckles, seen on the coins of Gortyna, Karystos, and 
Eretria seem to be directly borrowed from Minoan lentoid gems. 
The two overlapping swans on coins of Eion in Macedonia recall a 
well-established intaglio design of the same early class. The native 
goats which act as supporters on either side of a fig tree on some types 
of the newly discovered archaic coins of Skyros suggest the same 
comparisons. On the other hand a version of the lions’ gate scheme— 
two lions with their forepaws on the capital of a column, seen on 
an Ionian stater of about 700 B. C—has some claims, in view of the 
Phrygian parallels, to be regarded as an instance of direct survival. 

A good deal more might be said as to this numismatic indebted- 
ness, nor is it surprising that the civic badge on coins should have 
been taken at times from those on ancient gems and signets brought 
to light by the accidental opening of a tomb, together with bronze 
arms and mortal remains attributed, it may be, to some local hero. 
Of the almost literal reproduction of the designs on Minoan signet 
rings by a later Greek engraver I am able to set before you a really 
astonishing example. Three rings (figs. 5, 6, 7) were recently ob- 
tained by me in Athens, consisting of solid silver hoops themselves 
penannular with rounded terminations in which swivel fashion are 
set oval ivory bezels, with intaglios on either side, surrounded in 
each case by a high rim, itself taken over from the prominent gold 
rim of Egyptian scarab mountings. These bezels are perforated, the 
silver wire that went through them being wound around the feet of 
the hoops. From particularities in the technique, the state of the 
metal and of the ivory, and other points of internal evidence, it is 


1 Among recent discoveries are a whole series of late Minoan vases from Tiryns with 
inscriptions representing a mainland type of the developed linear script of Minoan Crete. 


636 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


impossible to doubt the genuine antiquity of these objects.1. They 
were said to have been found in a tomb in the western part of Crete, 
reaching Athens by way of Canea, and their owner set no high value 
on them.? This type of ring with the wire wound around the ends 
of the hoop is in common use for scarabs, cylinders, and scaraboids in 
the sixth and fifth centuries B. C., and itself goes back to Minoan 
or Mycenaean prototypes.* From the style of engraving, however, it 
seems impossible to date the signet rings in question earlier than 
about 400 B. C. 

The subjects of two of these are a Sphinx with an ibex on the 
reverse (fig. 5a, b) and another Sphinx coupled in the same way 
with a Chimaera (fig. 5a, 6). The intaglios are executed in an ad- 
vanced provincial Greeks style, in which, however, certain remi- 
niscences of artistic schemes dating from the first half of the fifth 
century are still perceptible.* 

But the designs on the two sides of the third intagho (fig. 7a and 
6), though obviously engraved at the same time as the others and by 
the same hand belong to a very different category. On one side a 
man in the Minoan loin clothing with a short thrusting sword in his 
right hand is struggling with a lion, the head of which is seen as 
from above. It will be recognized at once that this scheme corre- 
sponds even in details with that of the hero struggling with a lion, 
engraved on a gold perforated bead or ring bezel found by Schlie- 
mann in the third shaft grave at Mycenae.> On the other side of 
the intaglio, we see a bearded warrior with a girdle and similar 


1The exceptional character of these objects and the appearance of Mycenaean motives 
on one signet side by side with classical subjects on the others made it necessary, in spite 
of their appearance of undoubted antiquity, to submit them to the severest expertise. 
{ had them examined by a series of the best judges of such objects, but all were unanimous 
both as to the antiquity of the signets and as to the fact that the ivory had not been recut 
and reengraved in later times. Examination of various parts of the surface under a 
strong microscope confirmed these results. In order, however, to make assurance doubly 
sure I decided on a crucial test. I intrusted to Mr. W. H. Young, the highly experienced 
formatore and expert in antiquities of the Ashmolean Museum, the delicate task of re- 
breaking two of the ivory signets along a line of earlier fracture that followed the major 
axis of each and of removing all extraneous materials due to previous mendings or restora- 
tion. The results of this internal analysis were altogether conclusive. The cause of the 
longitudinal fracture was explained in the case of the signet (fig. 7) by the swelling of the 
silver pin due to oxidization. The whole of the metal, transmuted to the purple oxide 
characteristie of decayed silver, was here within. In the case of the other signet (fig. 5) 
this had been replaced by a new pin in recent times, and on removing this the whole of 
the perforation was visible and proved to be of the ancient character. The ivory has been 
attacked on both ends by a tubular drill, the two holes meeting irregularly near the 
middle. The modern method of drilling is, of course, quite different. It is done with a 
chisel pointed instrument and proceeds continuously from one end. 

2The correspondence of one of the scenes on the third ring with a type on a gold bead 
from Mycenae suggests, however, that its prototypes were taken from the mainland side. 

3An amygdaloid late Minoan or Mycenaean gem representing a ship, set into a silver 
hoop of this type, found at Eretria. is in my own collection. 

4 As, for instance, in the attitude of the ibex (fig. b) and in the type of the Chimaera. 
The facing sphinx (fig. a) is carelessly engraved and presents an abnormal aspect. Of its 
genuine antiquity, however, there can be no doubt. (See note 1, p. 684.) 

5 Mycenae, p. 174, fig. 253. 


i 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Evans. PLATE 3. 


6) 70 


Fics. 6-7.—GREEK SIGNET RINGS WITH SILVER Hoops AND IvoRY BEZELS FOUND IN 
CRETE(3). 


IY Pages 
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MINOAN AND MYCENAEAN ELEMENT—EVANS. 637 


Minoan costume, wearing a helmet with zones of plates and bearing 
a figure-of-eight shield on his back. Owing to the defective preser- 
vation of the surface it is difficult to make out the exact character of 
the stroke intended or to distinguish the weapon used from the war- 
rior’s raised arms. That he is aiming a mortal blow at the figure 
before him is clear. The latter wears the same narrow Minoan girdle, 
but his helmet, which is broader, is not so well executed. He is 
shown in a helpless position, falling backward over the lower mar- 
gin of a similar shield and holding a sword in his left hand, which, 
Re crcr. is rendered unavailable by his fall. 

Here we have a scene closely analogous to that on a sardonyx len- 
toid from the third shaft grave at Mycenae,' except that in the pres- 
ent case the body shield of the falling warrior reaches to his heels. 
If, as seems probable, this latter detail belongs to the original of the 
type, and the warrior has tripped backward over the lower rim of 
his cumbrous body shield, the scene itself would absolutely corre- 
spond with the Homeric episode of Periphétés, to which I have 
already referred. 

atpeplete yap petoncater év dartdoc avtuye maAto, 
thy abtoc popgeake Tod qveré’ , Eoxog axdytwy. 

th 8 7’ 42 Brabbete xécev Urtcoc, aud? d& xHAnE 
apnepdadtoy KovaBnae zepe Kootapocae meadvtoc.* 


We have here, in fact, the curious phenomenon of a pre-Homeric 
illustration of Homer revived by a classical engraver. 


1Furtwingler, Antike Gemmen, Pl. II, 2, and cf. Reichel, Homerische Waffen, p. 7, fig. 6. 
A strange and indescribably misleading representation of this gem is given in Schliemann, 
Mycenae, p. 202, fig. 313. 

2Tl., XV, 645 seqq. 


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ai ali .besesaxe Ilo on bint ‘Bi phage Aight itor ue 
aca favo! add vero Inarloed uisilfed monet Fr ealect assole Stole 
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: shared -sie kk to Housraomed avoiuiy Oi Jowh a fe sa 
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= eemottd Be rey Noe ait 22 tiem kee 


FLAMELESS COMBUSTION.' 


By CaRLETON Eis, Montclair, N. J. 


[With 1 plate. ] 
I. INTRODUCTION. 


The problem of the influence of hot surfaces upon gaseous com- 
bustion is one which, from a purely scientific standpoint, has engaged, 
for many years past, the attention of Prof. William A. Bone, of 
Leeds University and the Imperial College, London; and as his recent 
work has been the direct outcome of earlier scientific investigation, 
it will be appropriate, by way of introduction, to review briefly the 
present position of science with respect to this important subject, as 
stated by Prof. Bone. 

One may perhaps best arrive at an understanding of the term 
“flameless” or “surface” combustion by considering certain facts 
which differentiate it from the more familiar processes of combustion 
as they occur in ordinary flames. All hot surfaces have an accelerat- 
ing influence upon chemical changes in gaseous systems. If, at any 
temperature, a gaseous system, A, tends to pass over into another 
system, B, contact with a solid at the same temperature will accelerate 
the process. 

To take a very simple example, if a mixture of hydrogen and 
oxygen in their combining proportions (electrolytic gas) were main- 
tained in an inclosure with smooth glass walls at a temperature of, 
say, 450° C., there would certainly be a tendency to form steam, but 
the rate of change would be negligibly small. If, however, there 
were brought into the system some porous solid material at the same 
temperature, so that a large surface was exposed to the gases, the 
‘ate of change would at once be rapidly accelerated in the layer of 
gas immediately in contact with the hot surface. Steam, the product, 
would diffuse outward from the surface, and the supplies of hydrogen 
and oxygen at the surface would be renewed by diffusion inward. 
Thus combustion would proceed heterogeneously at the surface until 
the transformation of the original electrolytic gas into steam was 
complete. In the circumstances just cited, the rate of combustion, 


1 Reprinted by permission from Transactions of the American Institute of Mining 
Engineers, vol. 48, 1912 (1913), pp. 612-630. Presented at a meeting of the New York 
local section of the Institute, Apr. 12, 1912. 


639 


640 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


although now quite measurable, would probably be insufficient to 
cause any self-heating of the inclosure. The temperature would re- 
main at 450° C., which is well below the ignition temperature of the 
combustible mixture, or the point at which a solid would attain even 
incipient incandescence. 

It is therefore necessary to distinguish between two possible con- 
ditions under which gaseous combustion may occur, namely: (1) 
homogeneously, that is to say, equally throughout the system as a 
whole, at temperatures below the ignition point, slowly and without 
flame, and at temperatures above the ignition point, rapidly and with 
flame; and (2) heterogeneously, or only in layers immediately in 
contact with an incandescent surface (“ surface” or “ flameless” com- 
bustion). Other things being equal, the heterogeneous surface com- 
bustion is a faster process than the normal homogeneous combustion 
of ordinary flames. 

The influence of hot surfaces upon combustion at low temperatures 
seems to have occupied the attention of several chemists (Dulong and 
Thenard and, independently, Dobereiner, in France, Sir Humphrey 
Davy, William Henry, Thomas Graham, Faraday, and de la Rive, 
in England) during the first third of the last century; but no one 
of these distinguished men succeeded in evolving a satisfactory theory 
of the phenomenon, nor, with the exception of the famous “ Dobe- 
reiner lamp,” was there any practical outcome of their efforts. In 
1836, after a long but abortive controversy between Faraday and 
de la Rive, interest in the subject was dropped, not to be revived until 
recent years. Prof. Bone’s attention was first drawn to the subject 
during the course of an investigation on the combustion of hydro- 
carbons at low temperatures. The subject soon became so absorb- 
ingly attractive that he embarked upon what proved to be a long 
inquiry into the influence of a great variety of hot surfaces upon the 
combination of hydrogen and oxygen at temperatures below the 
ignition point. The inquiry has also included other cases of slow 
combustion; and experiments now in progress in his laboratory will 
materially advance the science of the subject. 

Prof. Bone’s experimental results justify the conclusion that the 
power of accelerating gaseous combustion at temperatures below the 
ignition point is possessed by all surfaces in varying degrees, de- 
pendent upon their chemical characters and physical texture. More- 
over, the “ activity ” of a given surface can be enhanced or diminished 
at will in a truly marvelous manner by previous special treatment. 
Thus, for example, in the case of the combination of either hydrogen 
or carbon monoxide with oxygen, in contact with a nonoxidizable 
metal or nonreducible oxide, the “activity” of the surface may be 
greatly stimulated by previous contact with the combustible gas, and, 


FLAMELESS COMBUSTION—ELLIS. 641 


conversely, may be diminished by previous contact with oxygen. 
Again, there is abundant evidence that the actual surface combustion 
is dependent upon a prior “absorption” (or condensation) of the 
combustible gas, and possibly also of the oxygen, by the surface. To 
what extent oxygen is involved, is not as yet perfectly clear. The 
“absorbed” (or condensed) gas becomes “activated” (probably 
“ionized,” as the physicists would call it) by association with the 
surface. Finally, certain important differences have been established 
between ordinary homogeneous combustion and heterogeneous sur- 
face or flameless combustion. Thus, for example, whereas the 
presence of water vapor certainly accelerates, if it is not essential 
to, the homogeneous combustion of carbon monoxide, it greatly re- 
tards the heterogeneous combustion of the same gas in contact with 
a surface such as fire-clay. Again, whereas methane has, in ordinary 
flames, a much greater affinity for oxygen than either hydrogen or 
carbon monoxide, a hot surface, by virtue of some “ selective” action, 
will completely reverse this usual order of things—a remarkable 
circumstance, than which no better proof could be afforded of the 
reality of surface combustion. 

In a discussion before the British Association in 1910, Sir J. J. 
Thompson insisted that combustion is concerned not only with atoms 
and molecules, but also with electrons—i. e., bodies of much smaller 
dimensions and moving with very high velocities—and suggested that 
“in reference to the influences of hot surfaces in promoting com- 
bustion, to which Professor Bone has drawn attention, it was not 
improbable that the emission of charged particles from the surface 
was a factor of primary importance.” Those who have followed 
recent developments of the corpuscular theories of electrical action 
will recall the experimental proof that incandescent surfaces emit 
enormous streams of electrons, traveling with high velocities; and 
the action of such surfaces in promoting combustion may ultimately 
be found to depend on the fact that they bring about the formation 
of layers of electrified gas, in which chemical changes proceed with 
extraordinary rapidity. 

A distinguishing feature of the new processes employing flameless 
combustion is, that a homogeneous explosive mixture of gas and air, 
in the proper proportions for complete combustion (or with air in 
slight excess), is caused to burn without flame in contact with a 
granular incandescent solid, whereby a large proportion of the poten- 
tial energy of the gas is immediately converted into radiant form. 
The advantages claimed for the new system are: (1) The combus- 
tion is greatly accelerated by the incandescent surface, and may be 
concentrated just where the heat is required; (2) the combustion is 
perfect with a minimum excess of air; (3) the attainment of very 


448638°—sm 19183——41 


642 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


high temperatures is possible without the aid of elaborate “ regenera- 
tive ” devices; and (4) by reason of the large amount of radiant energy 
developed, transmission of heat from the seat of combustion to the 
object to be heated is very rapid. These advantages are so uniquely 
combined in the new system that the resultant heating-effect is, for 
many important purposes, not only preeminently economical, but also 
easy of control. 


Il. DIAPHRAGM-HHATING AND ITS APPLICATIONS. 


In this process the homogeneous mixture of gas and air is allowed 
to flow under slight pressure from a suitable feeding chamber, 
through a porous diaphragm of refractory material, and to burn 
without flame at the surface of exit, which is thereby maintained in 
a state of red-hot incandescence. The diaphragm is composed of 
granules of fire brick bound together into a coherent block by suita- 
ble means. Its porosity is graded to suit the particular kind of gas 
for which it is to be used; but for undiluted coal gas, or coal gas 
containing only a small proportion of water gas, a diaphragm so 
porous that the gaseous mixture will readily flow through it at a 
pressure of one-eighth inch water gauge is employed. It 1s mounted 
in a suitable casing; the space inclosed between the back of the casing 
and the diaphragm constituting a convenient feeding chamber for 
the gaseous mixture, which is introduced at the back. Such a mix- 
ture may be obtained in either of two ways; namely, (1) by means 
of suitable connections through a Y-piece with separate supplies of 
low-pressure gas and air (2 or 3 inches water gauge only is sufficient) ; 
or (2) by means of an injector arrangement connected with a supply 
of gas at 2 pounds per square inch pressure. In this case the gas 
draws its own air from the atmosphere in sufficient quantity for com- 
plete combustion; the proportions of gas and air being easily regu- 
lated by a simple device. 

To start up a diaphragm, gas is first of all turned on and ignited 
as it issues at the surface; air is then added gradually until a fairly 
aérated mixture is obtained. The flame soon becomes nonluminous 
and diminishes in size; a moment later, it retreats to the surface of 
the diaphragm, which at once assumes a bluish appearance; soon, 
however, the granules at the surface attain an incipient red heat, 
producing a curious mottled effect; and, finally, the whole of the 
surface-layer of granules becomes red hot and an accelerated “ flame- 
less combustion ” comes into play. AI signs of flame disappear, and 
there remains an intensely glowing surface—a veritable wall of fire 
but without flame—throwing out a radiant heat which can steadily 
be maintained as long as required. 

The actual combustion in the diaphragm is confined within a very 
thin layer (one-eighth to one-fourth inch only) immediately below 


FLAMELESS COMBUSTION—ELLIS. 643 


the surface, and no heat is developed in any other part of the ap- 
paratus. While the front of the diaphragm is intensely hot, the back 
of the apparatus is so cold that one can lay the hand on it. The 
combustion of the gas, although confined within narrow limits, is 
perfect; for, when once the relative proportions of gas and air have 
been properly adjusted, no trace of unburnt gas escapes from the 
surface. Moreover, the temperature at the surface of the diaphragm 
can be instantly varied at will by altering the rate of feeding of the 
gaseous mixture; there is no lag in the temperature response—a cir- 
cumstance of great importance in operations where a fine regulation 
of heat is required. The temperature of a diaphragm working on 
a mixture of coal-gas and air, at a given rate of feeding, depends 
on whether or not the intense radiation from its surface is impeded; 
with a freely radiating surface, the temperature of a properly made 
diaphragm may be maintained at any point up to about 850° C. (say 
1,550° F.), according to the rate of supply of combustible mixture, 
A curious feature of the diaphragm is the freedom from back-firing 
at this or lower temperature. Even when an explosive gaseous mix- 
ture is passed through the porous wall at a velocity very much smaller 
than the normal speed of back-firing of the mixture, no explosion 
backward will occur. Such a plain diaphragm may be placed at any 
desired angle between the horizontal and vertical planes. 

The diaphragm method is applicable to a variety of combustible 
gases. Coal or coke oven gas (either undiluted, or mixed with water 
gas), natural gas, gasolene-air gas, carburetted water gas, are all 
well suited in cases where unimpeded radiation is required. I have 
recently found compressed liquefied gas (Blau gas) to give satisfac- 
tory results. Also, Prof. Bone has constructed and successfully 
operated plane diaphragms of all sizes up to 4 square feet in area, 
and is able to vouch from experience that their durability and radi- 
ant power are unimpaired, even after long-continued use. 


INCANDESCENCE NOT DEPENDENT ON EXTERNAL ATMOSPHERE. 


A further important point with regard to diaphragm-heating is, 
that the incandescence of the surface in no way depends upon the 
external atmosphere. When once the diaphragm has become incan- 
descent, and the proportions of air and gas supplied in the mixing- 
chamber at the back have been properly adjusted, the surface will 
maintain its incandescence unimpaired even in an atmosphere of 
carbon dioxide, nitrogen, or steam. 


APPLICATIONS OF DIAPHRAGM-HEATING. 


T need hardly point out the many obvious purposes to which “ dia- 
phragm-heating ” niay be applied. Broiling, roasting, toasting, are 
at once suggested; others will doubtless occur to you—such efficient 


644 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


means of attaining radiant heat can hardly fail to find new indus- 
trial uses. The evaporation and concentration of liquids by means 
of radiant energy emitted from a diaphragm fixed in a horizontal 
plane above the surface of the liquid is readily carried out. 

For example, the evaporation of a solution of sodium silicate 
(water-glass) is an operation which could not be satisfactorily per- 
formed by the ordinary means of heating the vessel by flame from 
below. By the new method, however, only the topmost layers of the 
liquid are heated; the radiant energy of the diaphragm is instantly 
transmitted to the surface of the liquid, where it is absorbed and 
utilized for the evaporation. The sodium silicate separates out as a 
skin on the surface of the liquid, it is then dried by the radiant heat, 
and at intervals the crust of dry sodium silicate may be skimmed off. 
In this way, we are not only able to evaporate the solution with a 
great economy of heat, but we are also able to complete the evapora- 
tion of highly concentrated solution much more easily than by means 
of heat applied from below. 


Ill. INCANDESCENT SURFACE COMBUSTION IN A BED OF REFRAC- 
TORY GRANULAR MATERIAL. 


This process is applicable to all kinds of gaseous or vaporized 
fuels, and to a great variety of both small and large scale industrial 
heating purposes. It consists essentially in injecting through a suit- 
able orifice, at a speed greater than the velocity of back firing, an 
explosive mixture of gas (or vapor) and air, in their combining pro- 
portions, into a bed of incandescent granular refractory material, 
which is disposed around or in proximity to the body to be heated. 

Figure 1 shows the process as applied to the crucible furnace. The 
crucible is surrounded by a bed of highly refractory granular ma- 
terial. The mixture of gas and air is injected at a high velocity 
through a narrow orifice in the base of the furnace, and as it im- 
pinges upon the incandescent bed, combustion is instantaneously com- 
pleted without flame. 

The seat of this flameless combustion is in the lowest part of the 
bed; and the burnt gases, rising through the upper layers, rapidly 
impart their heat to the bed, maintaining in it a high degree of in- 
candescence. Figure 2 shows a similar arrangement for the heating 
of a mufile furnace, an arrangement which needs no further expla- 
nation. 

It is obvious that this process is adaptable to many other furnace 
operations, as, for example, the heating of retorts, annealing fur- 
naces, and the like. It is not essential that the bed of refractory ma- 
terial shall be disposed around the vessel or chamber to be heated; it 
may be equally well packed into tubes, or the liké, traversing the sub- 
stance to be heated. This latter modification is important in relation 


FLAMELESS COMBUSTION—ELLIS. 645 


to the melting of metals or alloys which are fusible at temperatures 
below about 600° C., and also in relation to steam raising in multi- 


tubular boilers. By this proc- 
ess, much higher temperatures 
are attainable with a given gas 
than by the ordinary methods 
of flame combustion without a 
regenerative system. In fact, 
we have found that with any 
gas of high calorific intensity 
(such as coal gas, water gas, or 
natural gas), the upper practic- 
able temperature limit is deter- 
mined by the refractoriness of 
the material composing the 
chamber (i. e., the muffle or cru- 
cible) to be heated, rather than 
by the possibilities of the com- 
bustion itself. In a crucible 
fired by coal gas on this system 
we have readily melted Seger 


be 


=A 


{SSAA 
PDair nee 


q 


Fic. 1.—CRUCIBLE FURNACE HEATED BY SUR- 
FACE COMBUSTION. 


cone No. 39, which, according to the latest determination of the 
Reichsanstalt in Berlin, melts at 1,880° C. We can also easily melt 


ZY 
Z 


Ve A oe 


WS 


iy ey 


Ye 


aie 


eat \ 


7 


SX 


Fig. 2.—SURFACE COMBUSTION APPLIED TO A MUFFLE 


FURNACE. 


platinum, showing the 
possibilities of the 
method in regard to high 
temperatures with gas- 
fired furnaces. Using air 
preheated to 500° C. with 
coal gas, a temperature 
estimated at somewhat 
over 2,000° C. has been 
attained. <A very resist- 
ant chromite, not melting 
at 1,880° C., was fused in 
this way. Crucibles of 
alundum are fused with- 
out preheating the air. 
For the very high tem- 
peratures obtained with 
coal gas, water gas, or 
natural gas, Prof. Bone 
employs a bed composed 


either of fragments of magnesia, which has been burned at a high 
temperature, or of a neutral and highly refractory material specially 


646 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


prepared for this purpose. When the temperature required does not 
exceed 1,300° C., the bed of refractory material may be composed of a 
good quality of fire brick, crushed and meshed to a suitable size. As 
already remarked, the method is applicable to all kinds of gaseous 
and vaporous fuels, but naturally the maximum temperature obtain- 
able in any given case will depend upon the volume and heat capacity 
of the products for a given heat development in the bed. Thus, 
while with actual coal gas, water gas, or natural gas it is possible to 
attain temperatures up to at least 2,000° C., about 1,500° C. would 
probably be the maximum temperature obtainable without regenera- 
tion with producer gas of low calorific intensity, such as Mond gas. 
With some degree of heat recuperation, which in such a case would 
be quite practicable, this limit could be in all probability consider- 
ably exceeded. 

The following are the results of a test on a muffle furnace in which 
the muffle was heated between 815° and 1,425° C., with fully aérated 
coal gas. 


Results of test on a muffle furnace. 


[Dimensions of muffle, 9.5 by 5.25 by 3.25 in.} 


Temperature in middle} @as eon- Temperature of 


of muffle. sumption product. 
sees to main- ees 
tain tem- 
perature 
constant. 
mic: | HH, (Cu. it. per patie eORY 
hour, at 
| 15°C.) 

815 1, 499 21.0 540 | 1,004 
1,004 1, 840 35.3 645 1,195 
1, 205 2,201 58.0 870 1,598 
1, 424 2,596 79.0 1,085 1,9 


Mean net calorific value of gas = 540 B. t. u. per cu. ft. at 15° C. 


The conditions under which the tests were carried out made pos- 
sible the accurate determination of the rate of gas consumption requi- 
site to maintain the muffle at any constant temperature between 815° 
and 1,425° C. 

The temperatures given in the first two columns are those recorded 
by a standard thermojunction placed in the middle of the mufile. 
The temperatures of the escaping products were also ascertained by 
means of a standard thermojunction. It will be observed that the 
temperature of the products is in every case some 300° to 400° C. 
lower than that of the muffle. Even with a muffle temperature of 
1,424° C., there was no appearance of flame whatever at the top of 
the furnace. The gas consumptions recorded in the middle column 
ere extremely economical in comparison with ordinary heating by 
flame contact. Thus, for example, in a similar test with a muffle 


FLAMELESS COMBUSTION—ELLIS. 647 


of the same size, heated by flame contact in a furnace of modern de- 
sign, the gas consumption to maintain the muflle at 1,055° C. (the 
maximum temperature obtainable) was 105 cubic feet per hour; 
whereas by interpolation in the above table the consumption in the 
surface-combustion furnace at the same temperature would have 
been about 43 cubic feet per hour only. 

In a test which I witnessed the consumption of gas by the Bone 
muffle furnace was just one-half of that of a good type of the ordi- 
nary muffle furnace of similar capacity, both being maintained for 
several hours at 1,500° C. 


IV. SURFACE COMBUSTION AS APPLIED TO STHAM RAISING IN 
MULTITUBULAR BOILERS. 


It is well known that hitherto the gas firimg of steam boilers has 
not been very successful, either in thermal efficiency or in the rate of 
evaporation. All the gases used in this country for raising steam, 
such as blast-furnace gas, the surplus gas from by-product coke 
ovens, natural gas, and producer gas of various compositions, have 
been found amenable to the surface-combustion system. An eminent 
English blast-furnace engineer estimates that the efficiency of the 
best type of water-tube boiler fired by blast-furnace gas does not 
exceed about 55 per cent. Prof. Bone asserts that careful observa- 
tions, made on a battery of Lancashire boilers fired by blast-furnace 
gas, evaporating water previously softened to within 4 degrees of 
hardness with an attachment of the most approved type of econo- 
mizers (so that the temperature of the burnt gases going to the chim- 
ney was reduced to the lowest possible point consistent with good 
draft), proved that the thermal efficiency did not, under the best of 
conditions exceed 60 per cent. For boilers fired by coke-oven gas one 
can safely say that the average thermal efficiency does not exceed 65 
per cent, while in exceptional cases it may amount to perhaps 70 
per cent. 

Figure 3 represents a multitubular boiler of cylindrical section, 
operated by flameless combustion. It is traversed horizontally 
by a series of steel tubes, each 3 feet only in length and 3 inches in 
internal diameter. These tubes are packed throughout with frag- 
ments of a suitable refractory material, meshed to the proper size. 
Into the front end of the tube, where the gaseous mixture is intro- 
duced, is fitted a fire-clay plug, through which is bored a circular hole 
about 0.75 inch in diameter. This plug serves the double purpose 
of keeping the front end of the boiler cool, and of providing a suit- 
able aperture through which the gaseous mixture may be introduced 
at a speed much higher than the point of back-firing. 

Attached to the front end of the boiler is a mixing-chamber of 
special design, not shown in detail in the figure. The mixture fed 


648 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


into the boiler tubes from this chamber consists of the combustible | 
gas, with a proportion of air slightly in excess of that required for — 
complete combustion. The mixture is injected by pressure, or drawn 
by suction, through the orifice in this fire-clay plug, upon the in- 
candescent material in the tubes. The combustion of the mixture in 
contact with the incandescent material is complete before it has 
traversed about 6 inches of the tube from the point of entry. The 
result is that the core of the material at this part of the tube is main- 
tained at a high temperature, although the areas of actual contact 
between the hotter material and the walls of the tube are so rapidly 
cooled by the transmission of heat to the water in the boiler, that they 
never attain a temperature even approaching red heat. 

The combustion having been completed, the remainder of the mate- 
rial acts as a baffle towards the burnt gases as they traverse the tubes 
at a high velocity, causing 
them to impinge repeat- 
edly on the walls of the 
tubes. The usual rate at 
which the gaseous mixture 
is fed into the boiler cor- 
responds to the hourly 
consumption of about 100 
cubic feet of coal gas plus 
six times its volume of air 
for every tube of the 
boiler, or an equivalent 
volume (i. e., equivalent as 
regards heating capacity) 
of any other gaseous mix- 
ture. Thus, for the ten- 
FIG. 3.—EXPERIMENTAL BOILER GPERATED BY FLAMELESS {he boiler on which the 

COMBUSTION. Pe hc . 
original experiments were 
made, the consumption of coal-gas was about 1,000 cubic feet per 
hour, plus about 5,500 or 6,000 cubic feet of air. These figures indi- 
cate the extremely rapid rate at which the mixture is caused to 
traverse the tubes. - 


UTILIZATION OF THE HEAT IN THE EXIT GASES. 


After the burnt products have traversed the boiler-tubes, their tem- 
perature is never more than about 70° C. above that of the water in 
the boiler (which, of course, depends upon the pressure at which the 
steam is being generated). This is a much lower temperature than 
that at which the products of combustion usually pass away from a 
multitubular boiler. But, in order to increase still further the out- 
put of steam, the products are passed through a short tubular feed- 


FLAMELESS COMBUSTION—ELLIS. 649 


water heater, constructed on the same principle as the boiler. Dur- 
ing a test carried out in Leeds, in which steam was generated at 
100 pounds above atmospheric pressure, the temperature of the 
products leaving the boiler-tubes was 230° C.—the actual boiling 
point of the water being 170° C. These products, still containing a 
certain amount of valuable heat, were passed through a feed-water 
heater, only 1 foot long, containing nine tubes, of the same diameter 
as those in the boiler, packed with granular material. The hot prod- 
ucts, continually baffled in their passage through the tubes, readily 
imparted their heat to the cold feed-water surrounding them; and 
their temperature was thereby reduced to somewhat less than 100° C. 


THE TEN-TUBE EXPERIMENTAL BOILER. 


The connections to the front of this boiler consisted essentially of a 
tube for the supply of gas, and another for the supply of air. The 
gas and the air were mixed before entering the feeding chamber 
uttached to the front plate of the boiler; the gaseous mixture was 
burned in the tubes of the boiler; and the products passed outward at 
the other end into a small chamber, and thence into the feed-water 
heater. 

The mixture of gas and air was passed into the feed chamber of 
this boiler at a pressure of 17.3 inches water gauge. This pressure 
was necessary in order to overcome the resistance of the packing of 
the tubes. The pressure of the products entering the tubes of the 
feed-water heater was 2 inches water gauge, so that the pressure nec- 
essary to force the gas through the zone of combustion, and there- 
after through the remainder of the boiler tubes, was about 15 inches, 
water gauge. In carrying out the test the water was evaporated at 
100 pounds above atmospheric pressure; the temperature of the 
boiling water was therefore 168° C., or 337° F. The temperature 
of the combustion products leaving the boiler tubes was 230° C. The 
average temperature of the products leaving the feed-water heater 
was 95° C., or 203° F. The temperature of the water entering the 
feed-water heater was 5.5° C., or 42° F., and it was heated to 58° C., 
or 136.4° F., before entering the boiler, entirely at the expense of the 
burnt gases. 

The ratio between the heat transmitted to the water and the net 
heat of combustion of the burnt gas in the boiler was 0.94; i. e., over 
90 per cent of the heat generated was utilized. 

It is one of the prominent merits of the new system that the gas 
is burned completely with a minimum excess of free oxygen. Dur- 
ing the test in question, the average proportion of carbon dioxide 
in the combustion products was as much as 10.6 per cent, while the 
oxygen was as low as 1.6 per cent. The most careful examination 
of the products failed to reveal the presence of the slightest trace of 


650 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


carbon monoxide, hydrogen, or methane. Therefore, the remainder 
of the gas was simply nitrogen. Even with as little as 0.5 per cent 
of oxygen in the products, the combustion of the gas in the tubes is 
perfect, not a trace of combustible gas escaping. 


THE SKININYGROVE 110-TUBE BOILER FOR COKE-OVEN GAS. 


That the gas-firing of boilers according to the new system has been 
advanced beyond the merely experimental stage is proved by the 
recent erection by the Skininygrove Iron Works Co. (Ltd.), Chuland, 
Yorkshire, of a 110-tube boiler capable of evaporating not less than 
5,500 pounds of water per hour, fired by gas from a new installation 
of coke ovens adjacent to the blast furnace. As shown in plate 1, 
figure 1, this boiler is a cylindrical drum 10 feet in diameter, and only 
4 feet from front to back; it is traversed by 110 tubes of 3-inch inter- 
nal diameter, packed with fragments of fire brick. It is worked under 
the suction of a fan. To the front is attached a device whereby gas 
at 2 inches water gauge pressure from a suitable feeding chamber, 
together with a proper proportion of air from the outside atmosphere 
is drawn (under the suction of the fan) through a short “mixing 
tube” into each of the 110 tubes of the boiler, where it is burned 
without flame, in contact with the incandescent granular material. 
The products of combustion, having traversed the 4 feet of packed 
tube, pass outward into a semicircular chamber at the back of the 
boiler, and thence through a duct to the tubular feed-water heater, 
represented in plate 1, figure 2. A fan attached to the feed-water 
heater removes the cooled products and discharges them through a 
short duct into the atmosphere outside the boiler house. 

In construction, nothing could be simpler or more compact than a 
cylindrical shell only 4 feet long by 10 feet in diameter, supported 
on a casting and requiring neither elaborate brickwork setting nor 
chimney. The boiler has the further structural advantage over all 
other multitubular boilers, that the front plate can never be heated 
beyond the temperature of the water, however much the firing may 
be forced. This circumstance, coupled with the extremely short 
iength of the tubes, implies an absence of strain and greatly reduces 
the risk of leaky joints. Another feature of the boiler which makes 
for efficiency is the steep “evaporation gradient” along the tubes. 
Under the normal working conditions the “mean evaporation” ex- 
ceeds 20 pounds per square foot of heating surface, or about twice 
that of a locomotive boiler. Of the total evaporation no less than 
70 per cent occurs over the first third of the tubes, 22 per cent over 
the next third, and about 8 per cent over the remainder. Such a 
steep gradient causes a considerable natural circuation of the water 
in the boiler, a factor of great importance in good working. As to 
thermal efficiency it seems reasonable to expect that a boiler unit 


Smithsonian Report, 1913 —Ellis. PLATE 1 


3. TANK FOR MELTING METAL, HEATED BY FLAMELESS COMBUSTION. 


FLAMELESS COMBUSTION—ELLIS. 651 


which, while evaporating 20 pounds of water per square foot of 
heating surface, transmits upward of 90 per cent of the net heat of 
combustion of the gas to the water, and which, if need be, can be 
forced to a 50 per cent higher “duty” with only a slight drop in 
efficiency, will stand unrivaled as a steam raiser. Moreover, in the 
case of a large boiler, of say 100 tubes, “ elasticity ” may be conferred 
_ by arranging the tubes in groups, so that they may be fired up or com- 
pletely shut off, group by group, successively, in correspondence with 
variations in the load. 

The Skininygrove boiler has proved almost completely automatic 
in its working, according to the statement of the manager of this 
plant, who says, also: “The boiler has been off for the inspection of 
the tubes, which prove to be clean and free from scale, a fact which 
I attribute to highly rapid ebullition. During the length of time 
the boiler has been at work we have had no trouble with priming, the 
steam having been at all times perfectly dry. The average tempera- 
ture of the waste gases leaving the plant has been from 78 to 80° C., 
which is ample proof of the boiler’s efficiency.” 

Experiments to determine the value of this type of steam generator 
as a waste-heat boiler show important economies. Work on oil-fired 
boilers has also been carried out with satisfactory results. 


V. THE MELTING OF HASILY FUSIBLE METALS AND ALLOYS. 


It will be readily understood that the principle embodied in the 
boiler is capable of great extension. Thus, for example, it can be 
applied to (1) the preliminary concentration of dilute solutions and 
the heating of liquids generally; (2) the heating of large volumes of 
air; and (3) the melting of easily fusible metals and alloys. 

I will here refer briefly to some experiments on the fusion of metals. 
Prof. Bone’s attention was first drawn to this subject by experts of 
one of the London gas companies, who represented that there would 
be a large field of usefulness for the process in melting type metal for 
large newspapers, which require for their machines a continuous sup- 
ply of molten type metal. Plate 1, figure 3, represents an iron tank, 
efficiently lagged and filled to the top with molten lead at a tempera- 
ture of, say, 50° above its melting point. In the molten bath is fixed 
an iron tube, 2 or 3 feet long and 3 inches in internal diameter. The 
tube is packed (like one of the boiler tubes) with a suitable granular 
refractory material, and there are suitable arrangements for the in- 
troduction of the explosive mixture of gas and air which is to be 
burned in the tube. When once the device is started up, it can be 
worked continuously for days together. Solid Jead is continuously 
fed into the apparatus, and the molten metal is allowed to run over 
through the spout indicated in the diagram. Experiments have been 
carried out with tanks holding up to 8 tons or more of molten metal. 


652 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


in which a series of combustion tubes are fixed. By means of such 
an apparatus, lead (or other fusible metals or alloys) may be melted 
not only very rapidly, but with extraordinary efficiency. The follow- 
ing is the result of a test carried out at the experimental station with 
a single-tube apparatus: 


Lead-melting test. 


| Degrees ©. | Degrees F. 


Temperature of metal charged.........-.............-- Bes Shee aa pa5 an SUCe ¢ 15 60 


Temperature of metal tapped. -.-.-- = == = a in nnn 372 682 
Temperature of gases leaving apparatus. ........- Ae ee ee eS SAH 5 ton aS 500 932 


Lead melted per hour=1,176 pounds. 

Heat required per hour to raise metal from 15° C. to 372° C.=1,176X32.67=38,420 B. t. u. 
Gas burnt per hour=100 cu. ft. at N. T. P. : 

Net calorific value of gas=559 B. t. u. per cu. ft. at normal temperature and pressure. 


38.420 
55.000 0.686. 


Ratio= 


The conditions were so arranged that the mean temperature of the 
molten metal in the apparatus was 372° C. throughout the test. Lead 
ingots, each weighing about 30 pounds, were added at intervals of 
1.5 minutes, and the molten metal displaced was simultaneously run 
off into molds. Great care was taken to keep the bath thoroughly 
molten, and at a temperature within a few degrees of the mean 
value. Burning gas of net calorific value of 559 British thermal 
units per cubic foot, at the rate of 100 cubic feet per hour, it was 
found possible to raise the temperature of 1,176 pounds of lead per 
hour from 15° to 372° C.; the temperature of the products of combus- 
tion leaving the tube being constant at 500° C., or only 128° above 
the temperature of the molten metal. Using the latest determination 
by Spring of the specific heat of lead at temperatures up to and 
above its melting point, and adopting the usually accepted value for 
the latent heat of fusion of lead, Prof. Bone estimates that at least 70 
per cent of the heat developed was utilized. My observations of 
this type of heating apparatus, in comparison with externally heated 
melting pots, show a great difference in fuel consumption in favor of 
internal heating. 

Many other applications of flameless combustion are undergoing 
exhaustive investigation by Prof. Bone and his able colleague, C. D. 
McCourt, and in the near future we may look for further interesting 
developments within the many departments of the field of combus- 
tion without fiame. 


Se eee 


PROBLEMS IN SMOKE, FUME, AND DUST ABATEMENT. 


By F. G. COTTRELL. 


[With 37 plates. } 


The problem of maintaining a clear and unpolluted atmosphere 
is one which grows with our modern civilization and for the most 
part as a direct result of it. 

There are, to be sure, natural phenomena, such as fog and ex- 
halations from decaying vegetation, with which we have to contend 
in certain instances, but by far the most serious sources of air pollu- 
tion are man made. 

When coal smoke first came to public notice as the result of the 
growing use of this fuel, it was looked upon as a distinct and seri- 
ous menace to the community, and the feeling had grown so strong 
in England that we find in the time of Queen Elizabeth a law was 
enacted absolutely prohibiting the burning of coal in London dur- 
ing the sessions of Parliament. Since then the pendulum of public 
opinion seems, as usual, to have swung to its greatest elongation in 
the opposite direction, but is now on its return journey, which, let 
us hope, will be to a position of rational equilibrium where limitation 
of the smoke evil to the lowest economically practicable point will 
be rigidly insisted upon without either apathy or hysteria. 


SMOKE FROM ORDINARY COMBUSTION. 


Although the black smoke resulting from the incomplete combus- 
tion of coal or oil fuel is not the only artificial offender, it is un- 
doubtedly the most familiar and perhaps the most important. The 
rational remedy for the greater part of it is undoubtedly to be 
found in improved conditions of combustion guaranteeing complete 
oxidation of these particles of carbon and oily matters within the 
fire itself, thus eventually discharging them from the chimney as in- 
visible carbon dioxide and water vapor. 

This can almost invariably be accomplished if one is willing to 
make the necessary expenditure for equipment and attention to oper- 
ation.t This means ample and well-constructed combustion cham- 


1U. §S. Geological Survey Bulletin 334, ‘The Smoke Problem at Boiler Plants—A 
Preliminary Report,” by D. T, Randall, revised by S. B. Flagg as U. S. Bureau of Mines 
Bulletin 39. Aliso U. S. Geological Survey Bulletin 873, ‘The Smokeless Combustion of 
Coal in Boiler Furnaces, With a Chapter on Central Heating Plants,” by D. T. Randall 
and Hi. W. Weeks, revised by Henry Kreisinger as U. S. Bureau of Mines Bulletin 40. 


653 


654 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


bers, often with the installation of mechanically operated stokers, 
furnaces and boilers of sufficient capacity to avoid overcrowding 
even at peak loads, and, above all, a high order of intelligence in 
supervision of the operations. 

In the matter of city ordinances’ there is often a tendency to lay 
all the stress on the regulation of existing plants, overlooking or 
underestimating the fact that much of the trouble comes from inade- 
quate or faulty equipment in the first place. It has been very sig- 
nificant in certain industrial centers to note how some of the older 
works for a long time opposed municipal regulation as impracticable 
but later were found to be its staunch advocates. Investigation 
showed in most cases that their original furnace equipment had in 
the meantime worn out or become inadequate, and they had thus 
been forced by business considerations to replace this by new, up-to- 
date construction in the design of which the smoke problem was 
given due weight, and under these circumstances they no longer 
found it impracticable or even difficult to operate in conformity with 
reasonable smoke ordinances. The lesson that this teaches is the im- 
portance of at least some degree of municipal control not only over 
the operation of existing plants, but also over the construction 
of new ones. There is the same reason for a city to pass upon the 
adequacy from a sanitary standpoint of a proposed new power or 
heating plant within its limits as there is for its similar control 
of the fire protection and plumbing of a new office building. The 
regulation of existing sources of smoke always seems, of course, of 
more immediate importance, but for the future, the control of new 
construction will undoubtedly prove the determining influence. 

Under the conditions of our present-day life and industry, the 
question arises in each instance, “ What will be the cost and is it 
worth while?” Nor is it meant by this to specially indict the indus- 
trial sources of smoke. On the contrary, other things being equal, 
the individual householder is a far more difficult element to deal 
with than the large manufacturing plant. Compare, for example, 
Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. We are wont perhaps to think of 
Pittsburgh as the typical smoky city and as almost hopeless in this 
regard, yet to-day to the student of these matters, the cleaning up 
of smoke in Pittsburgh appears an easier and more practical task 
than the like service for Philadelphia, for in Pittsburgh the practi- 
cally universal use of natural gas in the home has left the smoke 
problem centered simply about the larger industrial uses of fuel. 
These, from their smaller number and greater individual importance, 
it is practicable to regulate by trained supervision and control, but 


10. S. Bureau of Mines Bulletin No. 49, entitled ‘“ City Smoke Ordinances and Smoke 
Abatement,” by Samuel B. Flagg. 


SMOKE AND DUST ABATEMENT—COTTRELL. 655 


in the case of the individual householder, a similar procedure appears 
well-nigh hopeless. 

The most promising solution for the household smoke problem 
appears to lie in the’ use (enforced if necessary) of essentially non- 
smoking fuels. New York City, with its municipal hard-coal regu- 
lation, and Pittsburgh, with its natural-gas supply, are good ex- 
amples of what may be accomplished in this direction. In the case 
of cities less favorably situated as regards such natural resources we 
must probably look to the by-products coke oven and other forms of 
gas producer to separate for us the difficultly manageable soft coals 
into permanent gaseous and solid products, both of which are essen- 
tially fool proof as far as smoke making is concerned, even when 
placed in the hands of the untrained public. It is interesting here 
to note that over half a century ago Sir William Siemens predicted 
from economic considerations that the time would come when all 
soft coal would first be coked and gasified before use. While this 
development in our subsequent fuel technique may have been slow 
and ramified into many forms not at once recognizable, the principles 
Siemens had before him have certainly underlain a great part of the 
progress made since his time, and with the widespread interest now 
being manifested in improved methods of combustion this line of 
attack bids fair to take a position of ever-increasing prominence. 

Another important type of centralized smoke control which has not 
yet been developed to its full possibilities is that of the central steam- 
heating plant. A very serious offender as regards smoke in many 
cities is the moderate-sized steam-heating plant, such as is found 
in apartment houses and smaller office buildings. The number of 
these and the amount of smoke which each can produce under care- 
less handling make them a serious item and far more difficult to 
supervise and contro] than if consolidated into larger groups with 
a single furnace plant for each group. Steam distribution with its 
attendant condensed-water return meets, of course, with sharper 
limitations than that of either gas or electricity, but even from the 
economic standpoint, aside from the smoke question, it deserves more 
serious consideration than it has yet had in municipal engineering. 

The ever-widening applications of electricity, especially in power 
and heating, are also doing much to solve the smoke problem. Even 
where the electricity has first to be generated from coal, a tremendous 
advantage is gained by the centralization of furnaces in a few large 
plants where the highest type of technical skill can be economically 
devoted to securing perfect combustion. 

‘The small isolated steam-power plant is rapidly disappearing and 
giving way to the electric motor, primarily for economic reasons, 


656 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


but incidentally each such substitution helps to solve the smoke 
problem. 

Another important factor is the electrification of railway termi- 
nals. In Pittsburgh, for example, it is estimated that about one-third 
of the total smoke now comes from locomotives. In Chicago the © 
proportion is perhaps even higher, and this element of the problem 
has been so forcibly realized that the 28 railroads entering that city 
are now contributing over $150,000 annually toward an investigation 
conducted by the committee on smoke abatement and electrification 
of the Chicago Association of Commerce to determine the practica- 
bility of general electrification of the lines within the city in order to 
eliminate this portion of Chicago’s smoke nuisance. This probably 
represents one of the most comprehensive engineering studies ever 
undertaken along such lines, and is an inspiring illustration of 
what may be accomplished by intelligently directed public interest. 
With the growing strength of public opinion on these matters on the 
one side and the rapid improvement of electric traction technique 
on the other, it is perhaps not too much to hope that another decade 
will see locomotive smoke practically eliminated from our larger 
cities. 

To briefly sum it all up, the coal-smoke problem has grown to its 
most aggravated form from the centralizing tendencies of our civili- 
zation, i. e., the concentration of life and industry in large cities, and 
its solution has already begun and must for the most part be worked 
out through still further developments of this same centralizing _ 
tendency by which the direct use of fuels from which it is easily pos- 
sible to produce smoke will be entirely taken out of the hands of the 
individual and small operator and centralized in a relatively few 
large establishments operating economically under rigid smoke con- 
trol, which in turn will supply the small consumer with heat and 
motive power in such forms as gas, coke, steam, and electricity. The 
key to such a solution is obviously well-directed, intelligent coopera- 
tion between municipal authority, private capital, and the individual 
citizen. 

The above covers, of course, only the smoke due to imperfect com- 
bustion of fuel, aside from which are many instances of smoke, fumes, 
and dust arising from various industrial processes which can not be 
merely “burnt up” into harmless, invisible gases simply by better 
combustion. 

There are, on the one hand, certain true gases, most of them quite 
invisible but still harmful to animal and plant life and sometimes 
even to the very buildings of stone and iron; and, on the other hand, 
such visible clouds of dust or fumes as can be seen arising from chem- 
ical and metallurgical works, cement mills, plaster factories, and the 
like. 


SMOKE AND DUST ABATEMENT—COTTRELL. 657 
THE SULPHUR PROBLEM OF THE SMELTERS.' 


The treatment and removal of the really gaseous constituents of 
these trade wastes become such a special problem of chemical en- 
gineering in each case that it can hardly be discussed to advantage 
in the general survey here attempted. There is, however, one case 
which from its magnitude deserves at least passing comment, viz, 
the sulphur dioxide gases discharged from smelters operating on the 
sulphide ores of lead, zinc, and copper, of which the latter, owing to 
their greater tonnage and higher sulphur content, present the most 
serious problem. No method has yet been devised which so’; this 
from a practical and economic standpoint for all plants of this char- 
acter. The most generally applicable method thus far employed has 
been the manufacture of sulphuric acid. The two chief limits to its 
commercial applicability in many cases are (1) the lack of a local 
market for the acid, coupled with the difficulty and expense of its 
transportation to great distances; (2) the great dilution of the sul- 
phur dioxide with air and other gases in most smelters. 

The greatest single use for sulphuric acid to-day is in the manu- 
facture of phosphate fertilizer. The proximity of phosphate rock on 
the one hand, and of a market for the finished superphosphate fer- 
tilizer on the other, are usually determining conditions in this matter. 
Perhaps the best example of a smelter favorably located in this re- 
gard is the Tennessee Copper Co., which has recently installed the 
largest sulphuric-acid plant in the world. It was driven to this, 
much against its will, by fume litigation, but is now making more 
from its acid than ‘ari its copper output. As stated, however, its 
location for such business was ideal, with the phosphate deposits of 
Tennessee and South Carolina as raw material, and the great south- 
ern cotton belt as market for the finished product at its door. It 
would be difficult to find another plant of this size so favorably 
located. 

When it is considered that there are many smelters in the country. 
most of them in the West, each of which burns off daily from 250 to 
1,000 tons of sulphur from its ores into the atmosphere, and that each 
ton of sulphur will make three tons of concentrated sulphuric acid 
and six of superphosphate fertilizer, the industrial problem of its 
disposition can be better appreciated. 

The cost of smelting in most of the large copper plants of to-day 
ranges from, say, $1.25 to $2 per ton of ore, depending chiefly on 
cost of labor, fuel, and power, and as a relatively small per cent of 
this often represents the difference between ae at a Peas or ata 


1The following four pages treating of the gaseous constituents are taken, with ee ht 
revision, from ‘‘ Smoke Problems of California,’ Trans. Commonwealth Club of California, 
vol. 8, No. 9, pp. 487~—492, San Francisco, Cal., Sept., 1913. 


44863°—sm 1913———-42 


658 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


loss, it will be readily understood that not many cents per ton of ore 
smelted can be added for special fume treatment unless the product 
so recovered can be made to pay part of this cost. 

Nor, aside from the cost, would it be easy even to throw away such 
an amount of acid without doing damage to the surrounding country 
by its getting into the drainage. The total production of sulphuric 
acid in the United States at present is about 2,500,000 tons per year, 
of which probably over half goes into fertilizer manufacture, the 
most important other consumers being the explosive factories, oil 
refineries, the steel mills, and miscellaneous heavy chemical factories. 
Over half of the total amount of acid is manufactured from the 
sulphur of pyrites imported into this country chiefly from Spain. 
The low water freight from there to our eastern and southern sea- 
board, where both the raw phosphate and the fertilizer markets 
already exist, makes this cheaper than to manufacture the acid from 
waste gases of our western smelters and then pay freight on the 
finished product. 

The discovery in Idaho and Montana, within the last few years, of 
what are probably the most extensive phosphate-rock beds yet found 
the world over,’ is likely to have a very important bearing on the 
problem in the future; but even so, the freight rates on the finished 
fertilizer to the southern and eastern markets are still practically 
prohibitive, and the demand for fertilizer on our virgin soils of the 
West is developing very slowly. A few days’ output of the sulphur 
from a single one of our large western smelters would supply sufi- 
cient acid for the present yearly fertilizer demands of the whole 
Pacific coast. However, the consumption of fertilizer in the West 
has more than tripled in the past five years, and eventually this will 
undoubtedly come to be a factor in the case. 

Besides the manufacture of sulphuric acid there are a few uses for 
sulphur dioxide itself, the largest consumption being in the wood 
pulp and paper industry, where it is used as a disintegrating and 
bleaching agent. It is also used as a disinfectant and preservative, 
and, to a small extent, in refrigerating machinery, but the tonnage 
represented by the latter application is comparatively small and 
does not seem to promise great enlargement; still these uses should 
not be overlooked as possibilities of disposal of part of the material 
to be handled. In the case of the wood-pulp industry, we are again 
met by a new complication. The spent liquors from these mills have 


1 Phosphates: Preliminary report on the Phosphate Deposits in Southeastern Idaho and 
Adjacent Parts of Wyoming and Utah, by H. S. Gale and R. W. Richards, U. S. Geologica) 
Survey Bull. No. 430, 1910, pp. 457-535. 

Phosphates in Idaho and Montana, by A. R. Schultz, R. W. Richards, and J. T. Pardee, 
U. S. Geological Survey Bull. No. 5380—-H, 1912. 

Fertilizer Resources of the United States, by Frank K. Cameron—Message from the 
President of the United States transmitting a letter from the Secretary of Agriculture, 
together with a Preliminary Report by the Bureau of Soils on the Fertilizer Resources of 
the United States—Senate Document No, 190, 2d sess. 62d Cong. 


SMOKE AND DUST ABATEMENT—COTTRELL. 659 


proved nearly, if not quite, as hard to get rid of, and as objectionable 
to the neighbors, as the smelter fumes themselves; and many suits 
have been brought against the plants for pollution of streams and 
other nuisances due to these liquors. So, after all, this would simply 
mean displacing a nuisance from one industry by extending that 
from another, although in the end it may prove merely a step in 
the solving of both problems. 

As already stated, many proposals have been made to simply dis- 
solve and wash away the gas in solution, but, while in the pure state it 
is fairly soluble in cold water, its dilution in average smelter gases 
and the high temperature of the latter make this mode of collection 
very difficult on the large scale and even if carried out it would leave 
a veritable ocean of dilute acid liquors which might easily prove more 
dangerous to the surrounding country and harder to get rid of than 
the original gases. The neutralization of this liquor with lime has 
been suggested and, in fact, this procedure actually obtains at the 
Ashio smelter in Japan,’ where specially favorable conditions seem 
to exist, but, as the weight of lime required in some of our smelters 
would be over half that of the ore, this, too, is only applicable in 
very special cases. 

Another ingenious suggestion has been to moisten the finely ground 
slag from the smelter itself, and use the metallic bases therein con- 
tained as chemical absorbents for the gas, at the same time unlocking 
and recovering in solution such of the valuable metals as this slag still 
contains.” Up to the present, however, this method has not proved 
commercially successful, on account of the slowness of the reaction, 
but its fundamental idea of combining the two great waste products 
from the smelter for the purpose of further mutual beneficiation of 
both is certainly an attractive one. Although it does not appear as 
necessarily hopeless, the difficulties and uncertainties in the way of its 
practical application are still certainly very great. 

Last but not least is the possible alternative of reducing the sulphur 
dioxide back to solid sulphur, or, better still, so smelting the ore in 
the first place that as much of the sulphur as possible is given off and 
collected as such instead of being burnt to its gaseous oxide as at 
present. Both of these methods for obtaining the sulphur in the free 
state are now attracting the serious attention of metallurgists. 

The earliest experiment, both in the laboratory and on a practical 
scale, dates back many years,* but recently the subject has again come 


+The Japan Excursion of the American Institute of Mining Engineers, Jos. W. Richards, 
Met. and Chem, Engineering, vol. 10, p. 20-21, Jan., 1912. 

2The Westby-Sérensen Process, by HE. P. Jennings, Eng. and Min. Journ., vol. 86, pp. 
418-419, Aug. 29, 1908; also U. S. Pat. 875222, Dec. 31, 1907. 

2 Aeltere und Neuere Verfahren zur Unschiidlichmachung des Htittenrauches durch 
Abscheidung des Schwefels aus seinen Oxydationsprodukten, by Otto Vogel, Rauch und 
Staub, 3, 68-71, December, 1912; also Handbook of Metallurgy, by Carl Schnabel, trans- 
lated by Henry Louis, 2d edition, 1907, vol, 2, pp. 69-76, 


660 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


prominently to public attention through experiments on a fairly 
large scale now being conducted in the western smelters, both on the 
“'Thiogen process,’? developed by Prof. S. W. Young, of Stanford 
University, and the “ Hall process,” * due to W. A. Hall. The out- 
come of the practical installations and tests under way are being 
awaited with much interest. 

Even if these methods prove successful at some particular plants, 
we must not jump at the conclusion that the smelter-fume problem 
in general is forthwith solved, for except where a ready market can 
be found for the sulphur produced, the extra cost of the oil or other 
fuel required would be a serious consideration. By far the greater 
part of the world’s production of sulphur goes at present into sul- 
phuric-acid manufacture, so it is evident this brings us back once 
more to the question of a market for that substance or the discovery 
of new uses for sulphur itself. Since sulphur, however, weighs only 
one-third as much as the sulphuric acid which can be made from it 
and is an inert solid instead of a corrosive liquid, the conversion of 
the gas to this form at the smelter may aid in the transportation 
problem even if it is reburned and manufactured into sulphuric acid 
at its destination. 

There is also the chance of so modifying present smelting practice 
itself that, with the expenditure of little or no extra fuel, part of the 
sulphur now being burnt up in the furnaces would be distilled off 
and collected in the unburnt form. Some of the modern develop- 
ments in smelting practice during the last few years seem to point 
strongly in this direction, although here again the possible improve- 
ments are probably limited to certain branches or departments only 
of the work, and part of the sulphur would have still to be taken care 
of by such other methods as already mentioned. 

To sum up: The smelter-fume problem as a whole is really made up 
of so many distinct elements, including character and quantity of 
cre and fuel supply, processes employed, location of works, transpor- 
tation facilities, available markets for products, etc., that we can not 
expect to find any one general solution of the difficulty; but it is 
encouraging to observe from how many different standpoints the 
question is being seriously attacked by practical men, and from the 
sum total of the different improvements applied, and diverse outlets 
for by-products being found, we may with fair confidence look to 
steady if not rapid improvement in the general situation. 

1The Thiogen Process for Reduction of SOs in Smelter Fume, by 8S. W. Young, Mining 
and Scientifle Press, vol. 103, 386-387, Sept. 28, 1911; Thiogen Process Demonstration 
(illustrated), by L. H. Eddy, Engineering and Mining Journal, vol. 93, 873-874, May 4, 
1912. See also Vogel in Rauch and Staub, l. ec. 

2The Hall Ore Desulphurizing Process, by W. A. Hall, Engineering and Mining Journal, 
vol. 96, 35-86, July 5, 1913. See also Editorial comment and abstracts of patents, The 


Mining Magazine, vol. 9, pp. 92-93, Aug., 1913, and vol. 10, pp. 141-142, Feb., 1914; also 
1912 Tritish Patents to W. A. Hall 20757, 20759, 20760, 26595. 


SMOKE AND DUST ABATEMENT—COTTRELL. O61 


THE REMOVAL OF INCOMBUSTIBLE SOLIDS AND LIQUIDS. 


The removal of the suspended particles of solids or liquids which 
make up the visible clouds of dust and fume may be considered a 
purely mechanical problem, no matter how fine these particles are, 
and as such presents interesting general features easily understood 
without recourse to highly technical considerations. 

The chief methods employed for removing such dust and fume 
from gases may be classed under the heads of washing, filtering. 
centrifuging, and electrical precipitation. 


WASHING METHODS. 


Where washing is employed it is usually accomplished either by a 
system of fine sprays of water or by bubbling the gases through 
water or by churning them up with water in various forms of agita- 
tors, or by a combination of these. For relatively small volumes of 
gases having a distinct commercial value—e. g., in the cleaning of 
fuel gas for domestic use or the scrubbing of iron blast-furnace gas 
preparatory to use in gas engines—these methods have become well 
established, but the thoroughness of the scrubbing required with the 
consequent amount of power consumed, together with the fact that, 
where the gases contain acid constituents, very corrosive liquors are 
generated requiring difficult and expensive acid-proof construction 
of the apparatus, has thus far set rather sharp limitations to the 
general extension of this method. A vast number of schemes based on 
these methods have been proposed and many patents have been taken 
out, but few who have not actually worked with such methods on a 
really large scale seem to realize the great difficulty they present from 
the practical and economic point of view when it comes to dealing 
with very large gas volumes. 


FILTRATION METHODS. 


The filtration of gases through fabrics, usually in the form of bags, 
has found a somewhat wider application to large scale work, notably 
in the zine and lead industry. The bag house has the advantage over 
a washing system in that the material is collected in a dry state, and 
for equal volumes of gas treated the expense of installation and main- 
tenance is generally oe less than for water scrubbing. The chief 
limitations tat the bag house have arisen from the impracticability 
up to the present of securing a suitable fabric which would continu- 
ously withstand high temperatures, acids, and other corrosive agents 
in the gases. Cotton bags are very satisfactory for moderately cool 
gases free from acids, such as met with in zinc-oxide manufacture. 
Wool bags, though more expensive, will withstand a somewhat 


1 See also pp. 671, 674 below and figs. 8 and 19. 


662 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


higher content of acids and are much used in lead smelting and in 
some copper smelters, but even their limit is soon reached, and in 
the majority of copper-smelting plants their use has been considered 
impractical unless the gases are first neutralized by additions of basic 
oxides, such as those of calcium or zinc. The resistance to the 
passage of the gases through the fabric, especially after the solids 
begin to collect in the pores, is also a serious item in large scale 
operation, as the fan power required to maintain the draft is often 
very large. 

The use of fine wire screen and of asbestos in place of cotton or 
woolen fabrics has been repeatedly suggested and extensive experi- 
ments have been made with such materials at different plants, but 
they have not proved generally serviceable, due chiefly to their high 
cost and the clogging of the pores, rapid corrosion of the wire when 
fine enough to filter effectively, and the tendency of asbestos to be- 
come brittle in highly acid atmospheres. 

Besides the bag filters, much less has been made of chambers or 
towers filled with coke, gravel, sand, sawdust, slag wool, and even 
asbestos fiber, but for large volumes of gases, especially when they 
carry a considerable weight of solids, such filter structures if made 
tight enough to be effective, introduce an enormous resistance and 
consume a corresponding amount of power, to say nothing of the 
labor of cleaning, so that their practical use may be considered as 
confined to rather special cases and relatively small gas volumes. 


SETTLING CHAMBERS AND BAFFLES. 


Even the interposition of large flues or chambers in the course of 
the gases on their way to the stack by temporarily decreasing their 
velocity greatly aids in settling suspended matters and form a part of 
almost every metallurgical flue system. If baffles in the form of plates 
or wires are hung in these chambers, their efficiency as dust settlers 
is greatly increased, but, of course, at the expense of draft, which 
must usually be compensated for by additional height of stack or fan 
power. These chambers are, of course, relatively much more effective 
as settlers for coarse than for fine particles, and it is impractical by 
their use alone to effectively eliminate real “fume” or smoke. Prob- 
ably the largest and best illustration of this system is at the Ana- 
conda Copper Mining Co.’s smelter at Great Falls, Mont... A few 
years ago this plant installed in its flue system a chamber 177 feet 
wide, 367 feet long, and 21 feet deep, with iron wires hung from 
top to bottom, spaced about 2 inches apart, each way throughout the 
chamber, making the aggregate length of wire some 4,000 miles, or 
about equal to the earth’s radius. To overcome the resistance to draft 


1“ The Great Falls Flue System and Chimney,” by C, W. Goodale and J. H. Klepinger, 
Bulletin American Institute of Mining Engineers, August, 1913, No. 80, pp. 1935-2010. 


SMOKE AND DUST ABATEMENT—COTTRELL. 663 


occasioned, a new stack was also built 50 feet in internal diameteys: 
and 506 feet high, the chamber and stack costing over a million dol- 
lars, and yet the company considered this a good investment on ac- 
count of the values recovered from the dust settled by the chamber. 
Nor is this by any means the largest of the copper-smelting plants in 
this country. In fact, the same company has another, three times 
this size, only 175 miles away, at Anaconda. This is mentioned to 
give some idea of the magnitude of the problems confronting the 
engineer in smelter-smoke control and the amount of skill and money 
already expended toward their solution. 


APPLICATION OF CENTRIFUGAL FORCE. 


Centrifugal force may be applied to remove suspended particles 
in one of two main ways. In the first of these the gas is brought 
tangentially into a stationary container of circular horizontal cross 
section and withdrawn vertically upward through the axis of the 
container, as in the well-known type of cyclone dust catcher, while 
the dust particles tend to be thrown out to the periphery and finally 
drop down into a receptacle provided for them beneath. In the 
second method the gases are passed axially through a rapidly ro- 
tating cylindrical shell, preferably provided with some form of 
baffles. The dust collects on the shell wall and bafiles and may be 
removed from them in various ways. 

The first of these methods is in very general use for gases con- 
taining fairly coarse dusts, but its efficiency falls off very rapidly, 
as might be expected, when we come to deal with smaller particles, 
and on reaching what we usually understand as fume or smoke the 
depositing action is practically nil. 

The revolving shell type is much more efficient in this regard, but 
the size and high speed necessary in such machinery for treating the 
large volumes of gases met with in most instances where it would be 
of interest have made it rather impractical and it has not come into 
general use. 

ELECTRICAL PRECIPITATION. 


The last method of fume and dust collection to which attention 
will here be drawn depends upon the use of high potential electrical 
discharges. This has a somewhat special interest for the Smith- 
sonian Institution, not merely on account of the interesting scientific 
problems which surround it, but also because some three years ago 
a group of patents pertaining to the subject were offered to the 
Institution as the basis for a new and unique form of endowment for 
scientific research. Out of this has grown the Research Corpora- 
tion, an organization incorporated to administer the technical and 
business developments of these and other patents and inventions 


664 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


which may in the future be presented in a similar way to this or 
other institutions of learning and to return to these institutions for 
use in scientific research the entire profits arising from such business. 


As the methods and aims of this new movement have already been 
elsewhere fully treated,! they may here be passed over, but on account 
of both the intrinsic scientific interest and the Institution’s asso- 
ciations with it, the subject of electrical precipitation of suspended 
particles will be presented in some detail chiefly by compilation from 
articles which have appeared in various scientific journals? amplified 
somewhat from unpublished notes on the work, furnished for the 
purpose by members of the technical staffs, at present busied with 
these developments. 


HISTORY OF ELECTRICAL PRECIPITATION. 


The removal of suspended particles from gases by the aid of elec- 
tric discharges is by no means a new idea. As early as 1824 we 
find it suggested by Hohlfeld* as a means of suppressing ordinary 
smoke, and again a quarter of a century later by Guitard.* These 
suggestions, which do not seem to have stimulated any practical 
study of the question, were soon entirely forgotten and only brought 
to light again by Sir Oliver Lodge® many years after he himself had 
independently rediscovered the same phenomena and brought them 
to public attention in a lecture before the Liverpool section of the 
Society of Chemical Industry, November 3, 1886.° The first recorded 
attempt to apply these principles commercially appears to have been 
made at the Dee Bank Lead Works. The general principle of elec- 
irical precipitation of suspended matter was at this time patented 


1 Report of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution for the year ending June 30, 
1912, pp. 8-5. Also “The Research Corporation, an Experiment in Public Administra- 
tion of Patent Rights,’ F. G. Cottrell; Report of the Eighth International Congress of 
Applied Chemistry, vol. 24, pp. 59-69, September, 1912. Also reprinted Journal of In- 
dustrial and Bngineering Chemistry, vol. 4, pp. 864-867, December, 1912. 

2“ The Blectrical Precipitation of Suspended Particles,’ by F. G. Cottrell, Journ, Ind. 
and Eng. Chem., vol. 3, 542-550, August, 1911. “ Electrical Fume Precipitation,” by F. G. 
Cottrell, Trans. Amer. Inst. Min. Eng., vol. 43, pp. 512-520, 755-762 (New York meeting, 
February, 1912). ‘‘ The Control of Dust in Portland Cement Manufacture by the Cottrell 
Precipitation Processes,” by Walter A. Schmidt; reprint Eighth Inter. Congress Applied 
Chem., vol. 5, pp. 117-124, 1912; also reprinted from Journal Industrial and Engineering 
Chemistry, vol. 4, pp. 719-723, October, 1912. “‘ Electrical Precipitation of Suspended 
Particles,” by Linn Bradley, Trans. Amer. Electrochemical Soc., vol. 22, pp. 489-497, 1912, 
“ Blectrical Precipitation of Cement Dust,’ Philip S. Taylor, Journ. Electr. Power and 
Gas, Mar. 14, 1914. 

3“ Das Niederschlagen des Rauchs durch Hlectricitiit Hohlfeld,” Kastner Archiv. Naturl., 
vol. 2, pp. 205-206 (1824). 

4C, F. Guitard, Mechanics Magazine, Nov., 1850. 

6 Historical Note on ‘Dust Electrification and Heat,” O. J. Lodge, Nature, vol. 71. 
p. 582 (1905). 

6“ The Electrical Disposition of Dust and Smoke with Special Reference to the Col- 
lection of Metallic Fumes and to a Possible Purification of the Atmosphere,” Journ. Soc. 
Chem. Ind., vol. 5, pp. 572-576 (1886), with appended bibliography. 


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Fic. 1.—DRAWINGS ACCOMPANYING EARLIEST PATENT ON PRECIPITATION (WALKER 
1884). 


SMOKE AND DUST ABATEMENT—COTTRELL. 665 


by Alfred O. Walker of the above firm in several countries,’ but these 
patents have long since expired. The apparatus was installed in 
1885 by the works manager, W. M. Hutchings, with the cooperation 
of Prof. Lodge, and was briefly described by the former? just before 
its completion as consisting of a system of metallic points situated in 
the flue from the lead furnaces, and excited from two Wimshurst 
influence machines with glass plates 5 feet in diameter, each machine 
being driven by a 1-horsepower steam engine. Figure* 1 reproduces 
the drawing accompanying Walker’s United States patent specifica- 
tion, A being the Wimshurst machine and B the flue carrying the 
gases to be treated. 

The apparatus peony: did not in practice fulfill expectations, 
as we find nothing further of it in the literature. ‘The most apparent 
weakness of the project lay, perhaps, in the reliance on the Wims- 
hurst machine, which had then just been brought out and from which 
a great deal more was anticipated‘ than has been justified by expe- 
rience, at least as far as commercial applications are concerned. 
Almost simultaneously with Walker, and apparently without knowl- 
edge of his and Lodge’s work, Dr. Karl Moeller, of the firm of 
K. & Th. Moeller, of Brackwede, Germany, secured a patent® on 
electrical precipitation. The patent specification itself appears, how- 
ever, to be the only published record of this work. The idea was, it 
is understood, suggested by an article® dealing with the disturbing 
influence on electrometer measurements due to dust in the air. 

After this an occasional patent’ or article*’ served to keep the 
subject in the public eye, and in 1903 Lodge took out a patent ® 
covering the use of the then new mercury arc for rectifying high 
potential alternating currents for this purpose, but none of these 
patents seem to have been carried into successful commercial opera- 
tion on the large scale in the chemical or metallurgical industries. 

Some eight years ago, while studying various methods for the 
removal of acid mists in the contact sulphuric-acid process at the 
University of California, the author had occasion to repeat the early 
experiments of Lodge and became convinced of the possibility of de- 

1Great Britain, Patent No. 11120, Aug. 9, 1884; Belgium, 68927, May 19, 1885; Spain, 


7211, July 10, 1885; Germany, 382861, Feb. 27, 1885; Italy, 18007, Mar. 31, 1885; 
United States, 342548, May 25, 1886. 

2 Berg.- und Hiittenmiinnisch Zeitung, vol. 44, pp. 253-254 (1885). 

*The figures in this paper are numbered consecutively and printed on plates. 

4A. O. Walker, Engincering (Lond.), vol. 39, pp. 627-628 (1885). G, Tissandier, Lon- 
don Electrician, vol. 17, p. 33 eae: 

WGer, LataoloLmoKd. 1) Oct 1884. 

® By Robt. Narwald, Wied. ace an 5, pp. 460-499 (1878). 

TLorrain, British Pats. 6495 and 6567 (1886); Thwait, U. S. Pat. 617618, Jan. 10, 
1899; Hardie, U. S. Pat. 768450, Aug. 28, 1904; Blake, U. S. Pat. 913941, Mar. 2, 1909; 
Dion, 925626, June 22, 1909. 

8J. Wright, Elect. Rev. (Lond.), vol. 47, p. 811, Nov. 23, 1900; see also Jour, Roy, 
Sanitary Institute, vol. 27, p. 42. 

® Brit. Pat. 24305 (1903); U. S. Pat. 803180, Oct. 31, 1905. 


666 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


veloping them into commercial realities. The subsequent work may 
fairly be considered as the reduction to engineering practice as re- 
gards equipment and construction of the fundamental processes long 
since laid open to us by the splendid pioneer work of Lodge, a feat 
vastly easier to-day than at the time of Lodge and Walker’s original 
attempt. 

THEORY OF ELECTRICAL PRECIPITATION. 


The precipitation of suspended matter, whether in gases or liquids, 
may be accelerated by electricity in the form of either direct or 
alternating current, but the mode of action and the type of problem 
to which each is best applicable differ in certain important respects. 

Where an alternating electromotive force is applied to a suspen- 
sion the action consists for the most part in an agglomeration of the 
suspended particles into larger aggregates out in the body of the sus- 
pending medium and a consequently more rapid settling of these 
ageregates under the influence of gravity. 

Thus, it has been stated that if powerful Hertzian waves are sent 
out under proper conditions into foggy air the alternating fields set 
up in space cause an agglomeration of the particles of liquid into 
larger drops, which then settle much more rapidly. Considerable 
work aimed at the application of these phenomena to the dispelling 
of fog on land and sea was said to have been done some years ago in 
France and England, but very little as to definite results appears to 
have been published. Another application of alternating current 
along these lines is found in a process now in use in the California oil 
fields for separating emulsified water from crude oil.! 

Alternating current may thus be used to advantage where the 
masses of fluid to be treated are fairly quiescent, and a simple 
agglomeration of the suspended particles into larger aggregates is 
suflicient to effect separation by gravity or otherwise. 

In the case of the large volumes of rapidly moving gases in smelter 
flues the agglomerating and settling process is, however, too slow 
even when the flues are expanded into as large dust chambers as are 
commercially feasible. It is in such cases that unidirectional current 
methods have been particularly important. 

If we bring a needle point connected to one side of a high poten- 
tial direct-current line opposite to a flat plate connected to the other 
side of the line we find that the air space between becomes highly 
charged with electricity of the same sign as the needle point, irre- 
spective of whether this is positive or negative, and any insulated 
body brought into this space instantly receives a charge of the same 
sign. If this body is free to move, as in the case of a floating particle, 


1See “ Dehydration of Crude Petroleum, a New Electrical Process,’ Arthur T, Beazley, 
The Oil Age (Los Angeles), vol. 3, pp. 2-4, Apr. 21, 1911. 


SMOKE AND DUST ABATEMENT—COTTRELL. 667 


it will be attracted to the plate of opposite charge and will move the 
faster the higher its charge and the greater the potential gradient 
between the point and plate. 

Even if there are no visible suspended particles the gas molecules 
themselves undergo this same process, as is evidenced by a strong 
wind from the point to the plate, even in perfectly transparent gases. 
The old familiar experiment of blowing out a candle flame by pre- 
senting it to such a charged point is simply another illustration of 
the same phenomena. 

As above indicated, the first step toward practicability was of 
necessity a commercially feasible source of high-tension direct cur- 
rent. The obstacles to building ordinary direct-current generators 
for high voltages lie chiefly in difficulties of insulation, and if this 
is avoided as to individual machines by working a large number 
in series the multiplication of adjustments and moving parts intrudes 
itself. On the other hand, high potential alternating current tech- 
nique has in late years been worked out most thoroughly, and com- 
mercial apparatus up to 100,000 volts and over has been available for 
some years in the market. 

The procedure actually used in the installations described below 
is diagrammatically illustrated in the early Patent Office drawing 
(fig. 2), and consists in transforming the alternating current from 
an ordinary lighting or power circuit P up to some 20,000 to 75,000 
volts through the transformer 0, and then commutating this high 
potential current into an intermittent-direct current by means of a 
special rotating contact maker J driven by a synchronous motor L. 
This unidirectional current is applied to a system of electrodes in the 
flues carrying the gases to be treated. In the particular form shown 
in the drawing the wall of the chamber A itself acts as one electrode, 
the other electrode @ being suspended within it. The heating circuit 
h and inlet for clean gas G are merely for protection of the insulation 
from condensation of acid and moisture. 

The electrodes are of two types corresponding to the plate and point 
in the experiment above cited. The construction of electrodes corre- 
sponding to the plate presents no special problem, as any smooth 
conducting surface will answer the purpose. With the pointed or 
discharge electrodes it is quite otherwise, and the working out of 
practical forms for these proved the key to the first commercially 
successful installations. 

In laboratory experiments when the discharge from a single point 
or a few such was being studied fine sewing needles or even wire 
bristles answered very well, but when it was attempted to greatly 
multiply such discharge points in order to uniformly treat a large 
mass of rapidly moving gas at moderate temperatures great dif- 


668 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


ficulty was encountered in obtaining a powerful and, at the same time. 
effective distribution of current. 

It may be of interest to note that the clue to the solution of this 
difficulty came from an almost accidental observation. Working one 
evening in the twilight, when the efficiency of the different points 
could be roughly judged by the pale luminous discharge from them, 
it was noticed that under the particular conditions employed at the 
time this glow only became appreciable when the points had ap- 
proached the plates almost to within the distance for disruptive 
discharge, while at the same time a piece of cotton-covered magnet 
wire, which carried the current from the transformer and commutator 
to the discharge electrodes, although widely separated from any 
conductor of opposite polarity, showed a beautiful uniform purple 
glow along its whole length. The explanation lay in the fact that 
every loose fiber of the cotton insulation, although a relatively poor 
conductor compared to a metallic wire, was still sufficiently con- 
ductive from its natural hygroscopic moisture to act as a discharge 
point for this high potential current, and its fineness and sharpness. 
of course, far exceeded that of the sharpest needle or thinnest metallic 
wire. Acting on this suggestion, it was found that a piece of this 
cotton-covered wire when used as a discharge electrode at ordinary 
temperature proved far more effective in precipitating the sulphuric- 
acid mist, which was then the object of study, than any system of 
metallic points which it had been possible to construct. Perhaps 
the greatest advantage thus gained lay in the less accurate spacing 
demanded between the electrodes of opposite polarity in order to 
secure a reasonably uniform discharge. Much of the importance of 
this discovery at the time lay in the limited potentials of a few 
thousand volts then available to the experimenters in their laboratory 
work. 

In practice, of course, a more durable material than cotton was 
demanded for the hot acid gases to be treated, and this was found 
in asbestos or mica, the fine filaments of the one and the scales of the 
other supplying the discharge points or edges of the excessive fine- 
ness required. These materials were twisted up with wires or other- 
wise fastened to suitable metallic supports to form the discharge elec- 
trodes in such wise that the current had to pass only a short distance 
by surface leakage over them, the slight deposit of moisture or acid 
fume naturally settling on them serving to effect the conduction. 
With the further development of the electrical technique to provide 
the far higher voltages now being used in commercial operation, the 
choice and design of electrodes has become much more flexible, includ- 
ing simple metallic wires, sharp metallic strips, and the like. In 
fact, the very phenomena of so-called corona loss or direct leakage 
from the wire into the air on high-tension transmission lines, which 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Ccttrell. PLATE 2. 


Fic. 2.—PATENT OFFICE DRAWINGS OF FIRST COMMERCIALLY SUCCESSFUL SYSTEM OF 
ELECTRICAL PRECIPITATION (COTTRELL, 1908). 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Cottrell. PLATE 3. 


Fic. 3.—GENERAL ARRANGEMENT OF EXPERIMENTS ON SULPHURIC ACID MISTS, UNIVERSITY 
OF CALIFORNIA, 1906. 


SMOKE AND DUST ABATEMENT—COTTRELL. 669 


are to-day the chief stumbling block of the power companies in going 
very far above 100,000 volts on these lines, become exactly what is 
desired in the processes of precipitation, and with the voltages now 
used a bare metal wire of moderate size or the relatively thin edge of 
a metallic sheet may be made to furnish an excellent discharge. 

The construction and arrangement of the electrodes, as also of the 
chamber containing them, naturally varies very widely with the con- 
ditions to be fulfilled under the varied applications to which the 
process may be put. Some of the more general features of this work 
are described in patents' already issued in this and foreign coun- 
tries, while further details and modifications are covered in other 
patents not yet issued from the various patent offices. The accom- 
panying photographs give perhaps a better idea of the gradual de- 
velopment of the work than any detailed description which would be 
possible in the space here at command. 


LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS. 


Figure 3 is the apparatus used for the original laboratory experi- 
ments in the spring of 1906. Sulphuric-acid mist was generated by 
bubbling the gas from the little contact sulphuric-acid plant, seen 
on the table, through water in the U tube beneath the inverted glass 
bell jar (A), whose inner walls were quickly wetted sufficiently with 
acid to act as the collecting electrode, a wire being inserted along- 
side of the stopper through which the U-tube connected with the bell 
jar and served to connect the jar walls to the induction coil. on the 
left, the latter acting as the step-up transformer (O). This coil re- 
ceived alternating current at 110 volts from the lighting circuit and 
gave about 3,700. volts at its secondary. The other high potential 
terminal of the induction coil was connected to the discharge elec- 
trode (C) within the bell jar through a make and break (M J N), 
operated by the synchronous motor (L). This latter was improvised 
by substituting a plain iron cross for the squirrel-cage armature in an 
ordinary fan motor operated from the same 110-volt line as the 
induction coil and brought into step by the induction motor on the 
right. A momentary contact with the discharge electrode was thus 
established once each complete cycle at the peak of the voltage wave 
and served to charge this electrode to the maximum voltage of the 
line, always with the same polarity. As stated above, electrical pre- 
cipitation takes place no matter whether the discharge electrode is 
made the positive or negative, and the direction of the discharge and 
deposit is independent of the polarity and determined only by the 


1U. 8. Pats. 866843, 895729, 945917, 1016476, 1035422, and 1067974. ‘The second of 
these also practically reprinted by Eng. Min. Journ., vol. 86, pp. 375-377 (1908), 
Germ. Pats. 258435, 265964, and 270757, and corresponding patents in various other 
countries, See also in this connection German Pats. 208740, 230570, and 238958. 

*'The letters in parentheses refer to corresponding parts in the diagram (fig. 2). 


670 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


size, shape, and surface of the opposing electrodes; but it is found 
in practice that the negative discharge is much the more stable and 
can be run at higher current without danger of disruptive discharge, 
so that it has now become standard practice to make the discharge 
electrodes the negative and the grounded collection electrodes the 
positive. In order to help maintain the charge on the electrode in 
the interval between these contacts, the Leyden jar (1) seen in the 
picture was connected in parallel with the electrodes. The wire lead- 
ing to the jar walls or collecting electrode was usually grounded for 
convenience and safety, as, in fact, has been done throughout all the 
practical installations. This leaves but one high-potential conductor 
to deal with in each precipitation chamber and greatly increases the 
safety of operation. 

Figure 4 is a closer view of the precipitation chamber through 
which the acid fume is being blown at the rate of about 20 liters per 
minute, the electric current being shut off of the apparatus. Figure 
5 shows the effect of turning on the electric current with the same gas 
steam still flowing. 

The discharge electrode in this case consisted of a cylinder of wire 
screen (C), wrapped with a few turns of asbestos sewing twine (c) 
and suspended by a wire passing through a glass tube as shown. The 
suspended particles of acid were driven away from the asbestos fila- 
ments and deposited on the walls of the bell jar, finally running down 
into the U tube below. 

The next undertaking was to duplicate these experiments on a scale 
some two hundred-fold larger. This was carried out during the same 
summer at the Hercules works of the E. I. du Pont de Nemours Pow- 
der Co. at Pinole, on San Francisco Bay, where the contact gases 
from one of their Mannheim contact sulphuric acid units were em- 
ployed. 

Figures 6 and 7 are photographs taken about a minute apart with 
the same current of fume-laden gases passing into the precipitation 
ehamber, but with the electric current respectively off and on. The 
apparatus was the same in general principle as the small laboratory 
anit described above. The precipitated acid drained off from this 
precipitation chamber into the carboy on the right. Current was 
supplied from three 1-kilowatt 110-volt to 2,200-volt transformers 
connected in series on their 2,200 volt side to give 6,600 volts. In this 
apparatus the power consumpticn was about one-fifth of a kilowatt, 
and between 100 and 200 cubic feet of %as per minute could readily 
be treated. 


1The Positive and Negative Corona and Electrical Precipitation, W. W. Strong. Trans. 
Sind 


Amer. Inst. Elect. Eng., vol. 32, pp. 1305-1314, Cooperstown meeting, June 27, 1913. 
Also U. S. Pat. 1067974, Cottrell, July 22, 19138. 


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Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Cottrell. PLATE 6. 


Fic. 8.—BAG HOUSE AT SELBY SMELTER. 


PLATE 7. 


Smithsonian Report, 


Fic. 9.—Buss BARS AND HEADS OF DISCHARGE ELECTRODES IN PARTING-ROOM FLUE 


AT SELBY SMELTER. 


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Fic. 10.—ELECTRODES INSIDE OF PARTING-ROOM FLUE AT SELBY SMELTER. 


SMOKE AND DUST ABATEMENT—COTTRELL. 671 


FIRST COMMERCIAL INSTALLATIONS. 


These experiments at Pinole attracted the attention of the Selby 
Smelting & Lead Co., whose smelter, located at Vallejo Junction, a 
few miles farther up the bay, was at that time the object of injunc- 
tion proceedings brought by the farmers of the surrounding coun- 
try. At the time the suits originated three separate stacks at the 
smelter contributed to the alleged nuisance. The first, and admit- 
tedly the most serious offender, handled the gases from the lead blast 
furnaces and discharged several tons of lead fume daily into the 
air. Shortly before the commencement of electrical precipitation 
work at the plant this had been obviated by the installation of the 
bag house,’ shown in figure 8. After correcting this evil there still 
remained. however, a stack discharging the gases from the roasters, 
which, besides the invisible sulphur dioxide, furnished dense white 
clouds, consisting chiefly of sulphuric acid, arsenic, and lead salts, 
and to which the bag house was inapplicable on account of the corro- 
sive action of these gases upon the bags. Lastly there was the stack 
of the refinery carrying the mists escaping from the pots of boiling 
sulphuric acid used to dissolve the silver out of the gold and silver 
alloy coming from the cupels. 

The blast furnace and the roaster stacks each carried something 
over 50,000 cubic feet of gas per minute while the refinery stack 
represented scarcely a tenth of this volume. As a first step operations 
were accordingly commenced on this latter, and after several months’ 
experimenting as to the best form of construction a system of ver- 
tical lead plates 4 inches wide by 4 feet in length and spaced about 4 
inches apart was adopted. Several rows of such plates were as- 
sembled in a 4 by 4 foot lead flue. Between each pair of plates hung 
a lead-covered iron rod carrying the asbestos or mica discharge ma- 
terial, the latter finally proving the more serviceable in this highly 
acid atmosphere. These rods or discharge electrodes were supported 
on a gridwork of buss bars extending over the heads of the plates 
and through apertures in the sides of the flue to insulators on the 
outside. Figure 9 is a view looking down on the top of this flue with 
the cover removed from above the electrodes, and figure 10 is a view 
inside the flue looking through the system of electrodes. Figures 11 
and 12 show the effect on the appearance of the stack when the elec- 
tric circuit is respectively open and closed, the stack in the immediate 
left foreground being the one into which this flue discharges. The 
large stack in the middle background is from the roasters to be dis- 
cussed below. Figure 13 shows the corresponding stream of dilute 
sulphuric acid (about 40° B.) running out from the flue as pre- 


1For detailed description see Eng. Min. Journ. vol. 86, pp. 451-457 (1908). 


672 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913, 


cipitated. When the acid kettles are at a full boil it often amounts 
to over 2 gallons a minute. 

The electric current is taken from the power circuit of the plant at 
460 volts, 60 cycles, and transformed up to 17,000 volts thence 
through the synchronous contact maker or rectifier to the electrode 
system. At first a glass-plate condenser was connected across the 
high potential line in parallel with the electrode system in order to 
assist In maintaining the potential of the electrodes between the in- 
tervals of contact, but was found troublesome and unnecessary in 
practice and in this and other installations is now omitted. 

The power consumption for this installation is about 2 kilowatts, 

including the driving current for the synchronous motor, and the 
whole apparatus requires no more attention than a feed pump or a 
blower. This appears to have been the first commercially successful 
installation of electrical precipitation ever made, and has now been 
in regular daily operation for over seven years at a cost for labor 
attendance and repairs of less than $20 a month. In fact, while the 
plant was making enough bluestone to utilize all the weak acid re- 
covered, the saving on purchase of the latter paid for the entire cost 
of operating five times over. 
. In the seven years which have elapsed since this installation was 
made the processes have undergone steady development, and inci- 
dentally have passed through the many vicissitudes common to in- 
novations in the industrial world. One of the first extensions of the 
work was naturally a series of experimental precipitation chambers 
in the main roaster flue of the same works. ‘Two different forms of 
these are seen in figures 14 and 15. The former was of lead con- 
struction similar to that of the first installation but of some ten- 
fold larger capacity, while the latter was of brick and iron construc- 
tion and intended for the collection of drier and less highly acid- 
bearing material. Figures 16 and 17 show the 9-foot diameter brick 
stack discharging these gases with the electric current respectively 
off and on. Later, fundamental changes in the furnace equipment 
and metallurgical practice at this plant, obviated the need for elec- 
trical precipitation and the permanent installation originally con- 
templated for these particular flues has never been carried out. 


OPERATIONS IN SHASTA COUNTY. 


The installation next in order of size to be undertaken was at the 
Balaklala Smelter at Coram, Shasta County, Cal., 273 miles north 
of San Francisco on the main line of the Southern Pacific Railroad 
to Portland and Seattle. The vast body of low-grade copper ore 
reaching for many miles across this county and commonly known as 
the Copper Crescent, has been described in detail by L. C. Grafton * 


1U. S. Geological Survey, Bull., 430b. 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Cottrell. PLATE 8. 


Fic. 11.—PaARTING-ROooM STACK, SELBY SMELTER, ELECTRIC CURRENT OFF. 


Fic. 12.—PARTING-ROOM STACK, SELBY SMELTER, ELECTRIC CURRENT ON. 


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Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Cottrell. PLATE 10. 


Fic. 15.—EXPERIMENTAL PRECIPITATORS IN BRICK FLUE FROM ROASTERS, SELBY 
SMELTER. 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Cottrell. PLATE 11. 


Fic. 16.—SELBY ROASTER STACK, ELECTRIC CURRENT OFF. 


Fic. 17.—SELBY ROASTER STACK, ELECTRIC CURRENT ON. 


SMOKE AND DUST ABATEMENT—COTTRELL. 673 


and characterized as the second largest copper deposit which can be 
considered as a single geological unit in the United States. From 
the viewpoint of smelter smoke litigation this region has a particu- 
larly interesting history. Figure 18 shows by a rough sketch map 
the location of the principal features of interest for the present dis- 
cussion. 

The first commercially successful smelter in this region was 
erected at Keswick in 1896 by the Mountain Copper Co. (Ltd.), 
under the management of Louis T. Wright, and was of especial 
interest as one of the pioneers in pyritic smelting. Extensive heap 
roasting was also carried on at this plant with the result of wide- 
spread deforestation of the surrounding country and the final closing 
down of the plant in 1905 through injunction proceedings instituted 


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Fic. 18.—-SKETCH MAP OF MINES AND SMELTERS OF SHASTA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. 


by the United States Forestry Service. The company has since built 
a small smelter and acid phosphate works at Martinez, on San Fran- 
cisco Bay, and now ships its ore to this point, nearly 250 miles 
distant, for treatment, but even this latter plant has at various times 
come in for its share of fume litigation. 

In 1901 the Bully Hill Smelter, at Delamar or Winthrop, with a 
capacity of 250 tons a day, was started. This was later purchased 
and is now owned by the General Electric Co., but since July, 
1910, it has been closed as a result of complaints by the United States 
Forestry Service, who insisted at that time that the plant either 
close or at least commence efforts on a practical scale looking toward 
controlling its fumes. 

In 1905 the Mammoth Copper Mining Co., a subsidiary of the 
United States Smelting, Refining & Mining Co., blew in its present 


44863°—sm 1913——-48 


674. ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


smelter at Kennett. This plant when running full has a capacity of 
some 1,200 tons of ore per day. 

The Balaklala, or First National Copper Co., was the most recent 
of the Shasta County smelters, having blown in its first furnace in 
1908. 

These smelters are all situated in the narrow precipitous canyon 
of the upper Sacramento River and its tributary, the Pitt. The 
region itself is too steep and rocky for agriculture, but was once 
heavily wooded, although now swept bare of vegetation for miles. 
As far as the canyon itself is concerned, probably all the damage 
possible has already been done unless reforestation were undertaken. 
This latter even would probably be slow and difficult work, as since 
the loss of vegetation the steep hillsides have been washed bare of 
soil for miles around. At Redding, however, some 13 miles below 
Coram and 17 miles below Kennett, the canyon widens out into the 
fertile Sacramento Valley and from this point southward for some 
12 miles farther les the region from which came increasingly in- 
sistant complaints against the smelters. These culminated in the 
spring of 1910 in agreements between the farmers and the smelters 
under which friendly suits were brought in the Federal courts and 
injunctions issued by stipulation requiring the smelters to remove 
the suspended matter from their exit gases and dilute the latter to 
such an extent that their sulphur dioxide content should not-exceed 
seventy-five hundredths of 1 per cent by volume as discharged from 

the stacks, with the further general and sweeping provision that they 
should do no damage. 

To accomplish this the Mammoth Smelter instatled a bag house, 
which has been in very successful operation since July, 1910. Figure 
19 is a view of this plant showing the bag house on the left in opera- 
tion. It will be noted that the gases discharged from the five stacks 
(each 21 feet square) are to all intents and purposes free from sus- 
pended matter and consequently invisible. Thiswepresents a notable 
achievement, being the first time that the bag house, so efficient in 
lead smelters, has been successfully applied to copper blast furnace 
gases on the large scale. 

Tt is made possible in this instance through neutralization of the 
sulphuric acid in the gases by the zine oxide carried over in the fume 
from the very heavy zine content of the ore smelted. The company 
is also the owner of patents’ on the introduction of finely divided 
metallic oxides into the gases for this purpose. In addition, it was 
necessary to provide an extensive system of cooling pipes, seen in. 


1Clarence B. Sprague, U. S. Pats. 981515, Aug. 17, 1909, and 984498, Feb. 14, 1911. 
See also W. C. Ebaugh, Journ. Indus. and Eng. Chem., vol. 1, pp 686-689 (1909) and 
vol. 2, pp. 372-373 (1910). Also “ Notes on te nt Plants,” Oy A. Dilers, Trans. 
Amer. Inst. Min: Eng., vol. 44, pp. 708-735 (1912). 


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SMOKE AND DUST ABATEMENT—COTTRELL. 675 


front of the bag house in the picture. There are 40 of these pipes, 
each 4 feet in diameter and averaging about 200 feet in length. They 
represent a very large part of the cost of the installation. It was 
expected that they would be sufficient to cool the entire gases of the 
plant to a safe temperature to protect the $30,000 worth of woolen 
bags with which the house is filled, but upon starting up with the 
gases passing through all the pipes in parallel it was found that only 
a little over half the full capacity of the plant could thus be treated 
with safety and operations were accordingly restricted to this. In 
the cold weather of winter a considerably larger tonnage can be 
handled with safety than during the hot summer. Subsequently by 
rearranging the pipe connections so as to have eight groups in par- 
allel, each consisting of five pipes in series, the company succeeded 
in greatly increasing their efficiency as coolers, and thus materially 
increased the plant capacity over that first obtained. Provision was 
also made to supplement the pipe cooling by the blowing in of out- 
door air when necessary. The fan power necessary to move all this 
vast weight of air and furnace gases through the bags and pipe sys- 
tem is of course considerable, reaching at times well up toward the 
1,000-horsepower mark. Notwithstanding this, however, the bag 
house is to be considered a decided success, at least for the particular 
conditions met with at this plant, and the management deserves great 
credit for the courage and skill with which it has carried through 
this new and after all largely experimental undertaking, represent- 
ing as it does the expenditure of over a quarter of a million dollars. 

In the case of the Balaklala Smelter, of which figure 20 is a general 
view, the use of a bag house was also considered, and in fact a small 
experimental unit containing a few bags was run for some months 
in comparison with tests both by the electrical process here de- 
scribed and also a centrifugal apparatus in which the gases passed 
through a rapidly-rotating cylindrical shell equipped with radial 
baffles to sure the gas being raised to full velocity. As a result of 
these tests the electrical process was adopted for the full-sized in- 
stallation. 

The smelter was treating from 700 to 1,000 tons of 23 to 3 per 
cent ore carrying over 30 per cent of sulphur with considerable but 
varying amounts of zine, the greater proportion of this being handled 
in blast furnaces, but the fines including everything under an inch 
and amounting to less than 10 per cent of the whole going through 
MacDougal roasters and an oil-fired reverberatory. The plant has 
also two converter stands. The gases from all these departments 
passed into a common fiue 18 by 20 feet in cross section, an interior 
view of which at the main by-pass damper is shown in figure 21. 
The volume of gases passing through this fiue varied with operating 
conditions from a quarter to half a million cubie feet a minute, which 


676 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


means, in round numbers, a mean linear velocity in the flue shown 
of 10 to 20 feet per second. 

Before attempting to design the full-sized equipment for treating 
these gases a small precipitation chamber capable of treating about 
1 per cent of the total gases was erected and an extended set of ex- 
periments made with it. Figure 22 shows this small unit with its 
exhaust fan and stack. In the original tests it was located nearer 
the base of the main stock, the figure showing it as later modified for 
other experiments and tests. 

Figures 23 and 24 indicate the degree of success attained with this 
small unit in its original position, having been taken a few minutes 
apart with the electric current respectively off and on, the same gas 
volume issuing in both instances from the stack, which is 2 feet in 
diameter. 

With this miniature unit as a guide, the equipment of the whole 
plant with similar apparatus was undertaken in March, 1910. This 
was completed and first put into operation the end of the following 
September, and with the exception of a couple of weeks in December, 
remained in continuous operation until July 24, 1911, when the whole 
plant shut down until such time as a practical method could be found 
for removing from the gases not only the suspended solids, but the 
sulphur dioxide gas as well. Experiments to this end with the Hall 
process already referred to, upon at least a semicommercial scale, 
have since been pursued by the Balaklala Co. at the smelter; but no 
decision seems yet to have been reached regarding their commercial 
practicability on the full-sized operating scale of the smelter. These 
experiments on sulphur dioxide have, however, nothing fundamen- 
tally to do with the electrical precipitation, and returning to this it 
may be said that the nine months of operation which the plant had 
amply demonstrated the entire practicability of extension of the 
process to operation of this and even larger scale. 

As was naturally to be expected many difficulties were encountered, 
some of which were quickly overcome, while others gave way more 
gradually before the systematic study of operating conditions. 

Figure 25 is a plan of the nine electrical precipitation units or 
chambers in their relation to the flue system and stack. It should 
here be noted that the two large fans indicated in the drawing were 
not required for the operation of the precipitating system nor to over- 
come any resistance due to its introduction, as this latter was very 
slight indeed. The fans were made necessary by that section of the 
court’s decree requiring dilution of the sulphur dioxide to three- 
quarters of one per cent or less. When the furnaces were running on a 
high sulphur charge this feature of the decree necessitated a consider- 
able dilution of the gases with fresh air and corresponding diminu- 
tion of stack draft. At such times the fans were operated, but during 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Cottrell. PLATE 14. 


Fic. 21.—DAMPER IN MAIN FLUE OF BALAKLALA SMELTER. 


FiG. 22.—MAIN FLUE, STACK, AND EXPERIMENTAL PRECIPITATOR AT BALAKLALA 
SMELTER. 


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PLATE 17. 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Cottrell. 


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Fic. 26.—PRECIPITATING UNIT, BALAKLALA CON. COPPER CO, CORAM, CAL. 


SMOKE AND DUST ABATEMENT—COTTRELL. 677 


a considerable portion of the time the sulphur dioxide in the gases 
could be brought low enough without interference with the draft, 
and during these periods the fans were stopped entirely, although the 
gases still passed through them. 

At the rectifier building the current was received from the com- 
pany’s three-phase power circuit at 2,300 volts, 60 cycles, and after 
being transformed up to from 25,000 to 30,000 volts under the con- 
trol of the operator through variable resistance and induction regu- 
lators was rectified into an intermittent direct current, as already ex- 
plained, and distributed to the individual precipitating units. 

Figure 26 shows a cross section through one of these units or pre- 
cipitating flues as first installed, and although forms of construction 
have been greatly modified and improved in later installations, this 
view still clearly illustrates the fundamentals of the method. The 
double vertical lines represent the collecting or grounded electrodes, 
each 6 inches wide by 10 feet high, made of No. 10 sheet iron. The 
dotted lines represent the discharge electrodes, consisting of two 
iron-wire strands between which was twisted the discharge mate- 
rial, for which both asbestos and mica preparations were at various 
times used in this plant. Each unit contained 24 rows of 24 elec- 
trodes of each type. The collecting electrodes were carried by bars 
connected directly to the frame of the chambers themselves, while 
the discharge electrodes were spanned by springs between a system 
of buss bars carried on externally placed insulators, as shown in the 
figure. To the auxiliary chambers surrounding these insulators a 
small regulated amount of air was admitted to prevent conductive 
dust or fume from working back and settling on the insulators. 

The cam and shaker rod extending across the middle of the unit 
was originally designed for the purpose of vigorously shaking the 
electrodes, as it was greatly feared that the removal of precipitate 
from the electrodes in units of this size might be one of the most 
serious problems. In actual operation it was found, however, that 
the electrodes could easily be shaken by hand from the top entirely 
free from dust, the whole operation including cutting the unit in 
and out of the system and the removal and replacement of its covers, 
requiring only about 10 minutes, this having to be repeated every 
six or eight hours, depending on the dust content of the gases. The 
precipitated dust and fume as it fell from the electrodes was carried 
by the conveyor in each unit to a common longitudinal conveyor, 
which in turn discharged into cars carrying it away for treatment 
and recovery of its values. 

Figure 27 is the interior of the rectifier house or control station, 
showing the general arrangement of the apparatus and wiring. 
Figure 28 shows the precipitation units in course of construction, 
while figure 29 is a view over the tops of six out of the nine units 


678 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913, 


after completion. Figures 30 and 31 are photographs of the main 
stack taken a few minutes apart, with the electric current respectively 
off and on. 

Filtration tests upon the gases before and after the electrical treat- 
ment throughout the nine months of operation showed that this plant 
under favorable working conditions precipitated between 80 and 90 
per cent of the suspended matter in the gas, the average over the 
whole period of operation being somewhat less, while after intro- 
ducing improvements in detail of construction on one of the units 
shortly before the final shutdown of the plant the efficiency of this 
unit was carried well up into the nineties. Under average operating 
conditions at the smelter some 6 to 8 tons of precipitate were col- 
lected per 24 hours. Figure 32 shows this steady stream of precipi- 
tated smoke as it flowed night and day from the end of the conveyor 
coming from the units, and figure 33 shows the stock pile of several 
hundred tons of this as it collected below the discharge. 

The gas-treatmg plant as a whole, including flues, fans, motors, and 
electrical apparatus, cost, up to the time it was first put in operation, 
a little less than $110,000. Although many minor changes were later 
made, none of the larger or more expensive elements of construction 
were greatly altered. 

The total average power consumption for the precipitation plant 
was in the neighborhood of 120 kw. One man could readily control 
the whole operation in the rectifier house, although as a matter of 
precaution for a new plant under the high tension here used, two 
were usually on duty. Two laborers and a foreman were employed 
on the precipitating units and dust-handling system, although this 
could have been reduced somewhat by automatic shaking devices, as 
in the Riverside Plant described below. 

The volume of gases treated varied considerably with the condi- 
tions at the furnaces, but may fairly be taken as averaging between 
200,000 and 800,000 cubic feet per minute, and entering the units at 
from 100° to 150° C. 


WORK AT OTHER WESTERN SMELTERS. 


This plant, while not able to save the Balaklala smelter from an 
eventual shutdown, formed a very important link in the develop- 
ment of the processes to their present status. The interest of the 
smelter companies up to this point depended almost entirely on the 
hope of eliminating smoke as a nuisance and its attendant litigation 
with their neighbors; and had it not been for the life or death 
struggle that this meant to them, it is probable that the success of 
the electrical processes might have been delayed many years longer. 
Once brought, however, under this powerful stimulus to the state of 
development above described, the importance of these processes for the - 


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Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Cottrell. PLATE 19. 


Fic. 28.—CONSTRUCTION OF PRECIPITATION CHAMBERS AT 
BALAKLALA SMELTER. 


Fic. 29.—VieEw ACROSS PRECIPITATION CHAMBERS AT BALAKLALA SMELTER. 


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SMOKE AND DUST. ABATEMENT—COTTRELL. 679 


saving of values lost through waste gases began to claim general 
interest, and at present a large number of precipitating plants are 
under construction and several are already operating in copper, lead, 
and iron smelters, metal refineries, cement mills, and a varied set of 
chemical industries. 

It is unnecessary here to describe any of these plants in great 
detail as they represent essentially the same principles as those 
already discussed, but the accompanying illustrations may serve to 
give an idea of the present trend of the subject. 

Figures 34 and 35 show current on and off in an experimental unit 
erected about the end of 1911 at the Garfield copper smelter in Utah 
to treat the gases from basic lined converters handling a copper 
matte carrying a small percentage of lead. In this case 5-inch steel 
pipes carrying the gases acted also as grounded or collecting elec- 
trodes, the discharge electrodes being wires stretched axially within 
them. The deposited material was shaken down from time to time by 
striking the pipes with a system of hammers attached to the rocking 
shafts seen in the picture passing behind the front row of pipes. A 
pile of this deposit, consisting chiefly of basic lead sulphate, carrying 
gold, silver, and other values is seen on the ground to the right. 
This unit consisted of 24 pipes and was followed by another one of 
600 pipes, which was successfully operated for about a month on 
steady tests taking the whole of the gas from one large basic con- 
verter and part of the time a part of that from another one as well. 
A part of this equipment was then moved to a point where gases from 
the other departments—that is, blast furnaces, reverberatories, and 
roasters—could also be secured, and experiments continued on each 
of these and on mixture of them. They were all found to be easily 
handled. The others in fact even more easily than the converter 
gases shown above, but these latter contained the highest values. 
This installation is seen in figure 36, the small building to the right 
containing the transformer and rectifier, while one of the large 
catenary flues appears in the background. Having determined to 
build a new flue system and dust chamber for the blast furnace and 
converter gases at Garfield, it was decided to incorporate an electrical 
precipitation plant for the treatment of all the converter fumes. 
This entire project is now under construction, and in the planning of 
this flue system provision has also been made for the installation of 
an electrical precipitation plant for the treatment of blast fur- 
nace gases, should it later be decided to do so. The precipitation 
plant for the converter gases is expected to be in operation by fall of 
this year.? 


1“ Hlectrical Fume Precipitation at Garfield,’ by W. H. Howard. Paper presented at 
Salt Lake meeting Amer. Inst. Min, Eng. Aug. 11, 1914, and later to appear in the 
Transactions, 


680 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


Another installation to treat about 100,000 cubic feet of gas per 
minute and consisting of 384 pipes, each 13 inches in diameter, is 
also under construction at the lead smelter of the = Min- 
ing & Smelting Co. at Trail, British Columbia. 

Another unit of tubular type is seen in figure 37. In this case the 
pipes are of lead 12 inches in ‘diameter and 12 feet long. This unit 
was constructed at Anaconda to collect the copper and acids vola- 
tilized from an 80-ton experimental MacDougall furnace, roasting 
low-grade sulphide tailings with salt preparatory to leaching.’ Fig- 
ures 38 and 39 are the same, with the electric circuit of some 60,000 
volts, respectively, off and on. 

Where the material collected is largely liquid or saturated with 
acid, as in this case, both wood stave and vitrified terra-cotta pipes 
up to 2 feet in diameter have also been used with success, and with 
dry material iron-pipe construction has been successfully employed 
rp to 386 inches diameter and 20 feet in length. In these larger pipes 
several discharge electrodes are sometimes employed, carried on a 
central support. 

This type of construction, where applicable, has eg much to sim- 
plify and reduce cost of inetallnizon: 


ELECTRICAL PRECIPITATION AND GASEOUS CONSTITUENTS. 


The electrical process, it must be remembered, precipitates only sus- 
pended particles, be they liquid or solid, but does not in itself extract 
any of the truly gaseous constituents of the mixture under treatment. 
What is gas under one set of conditions may, however, be solid or 
liquid under others. Thus recent experiments upon arsenic-refining 
furnaces at Anaconda have indicated the practicability of installing 
two precipitating units in series, the first treating the hot gases as 
they come directly from the furnaces roasting crude flue dust, their 
temperature at this point being so high that the arsenic is for the 
most part in the form of true gas, and only the nonvolatile dust me- 
chanically carried over by the draft is precipitated. Beyond this 
unit the gases are cooled by admixture of cold air, and the arsenic 
separates as a cloud of solid fume, which is then precipitated in a 
state of high purity in the second electrical precipitation. 

This principle might, of course, also be applied in a greater num- 
ber of stages to mixtures of materials of different volatilities and 
in this way opens up new possibilities for the application of frac- 
tional distillation and condensation. 

Another indirect method of removing a particular gaseous con- 
stituent from a mixture by the electrical processes is illustrated by — 


1“ Roasting and Leaching Tailings at Anaconda, Mont.,” by Frederick Laist, Bull. 
Amer. Inst. Min. Eng., vol. 79, pp. 1147-1162, July, 1913. 


PLATE 22. 


ELECTRIC CURRENT OFF. 
ELECTRIC CURRENT ON. 


1913.—Cottrell. 


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Fic. 35.—EXPERIMENTAL PRECIPITATOR AT CONVERTER PLANT, GARFIELD SMELTER, 


Smithsonian Report, 


Smithsonian Report, 1913,—Cottrell. PLATE 23 


Fic. 36.—EXPERIMENTAL PRECIPITATOR ON MAIN FLUES, GARFIELD SMELTER. 


Fic. 37.—PRECIPITATOR ON ROASTER FLUE OF EXPERIMENTAL 
LEACHING PLANT, ANACONDA, MONT. 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Cottrell. PLATE 24. 


Fic. 38.—DISCHARGE FROM ANACONDA LEACHING PLANT PRECIPITATOR, ELECTRIC 
CURRENT OFF. 


Fic. 39.—DISCHARGE FROM ANACONDA LEACHING PLANT PRECIPITATOR, ELECTRIC 
CURRENT ON. 


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SMOKE AND DUST ABATEMENT—COTTRELL. 681 


an installation now in operation at the Hooker Electrochemical Co., 
Niagara Falls, where the exit gases of the chloride of lime factory 
are freed from their last traces of chlorine by first blowing into them 
as they travel along finely divided slaked lime and a little farther 
down the flue recovering this again by the precipitation unit shown 
in figures 40 and 41. Although the lime thus remains in the gases 
only a few seconds, it is in such a fine state of subdivision that absorp- 
tion is complete and the gases leave the treater without a trace of 
odor. 

Still another application, which in a sense is almost the reverse 
of this procedure, has been worked out in connection with the drying 
of solutions and emulsions, such as milk and other unstable material, 
by atomizing them in a fine spray into warm dry air and collecting 
by electrical precipitation the fine dry powder left by the evaporation 
of the microscopic droplets as they float along. 


ELECTRICAL PRECIPITATION AND ORDINARY COAL SMOKE. 


As to the relation of electrical precipitation to the problem of 
ordinary coal smoke, it has already been pointed out in the early 
portion of this article that the most general solution of the coal- 
smoke problem les in better combustion, and that what is here 
needed is not so much a method for collecting smoke as one for pre- 
venting its original formation. However, for some time to come, 
and, in some special cases perhaps permanently, precipitation methods 
may prove a stepping stone and useful adjunct. For example, in 
power plants having a high peak load, 1. e., a very high power de- 
mand for a short period of the day as compared with the remainder 
of the time it is often impracticable to operate over this peak 
load without producing some black smoke unless a much larger 
furnace and boiler equipment is installed than is required for the 
average load. In such cases the installation and operation of precipi- 
tation apparatus to take care of this peak-load interval may prove 
more economic than that of the addition of boilers and furnaces 
otherwise required. The locomotive smoke from railroad round- 
houses seems another legitimate field until electrification of steam 
roads in cities shall become more general. Again there are the 
stacks of certain furnaces in steel works where for metallurgical 
purposes it has become established procedure (even though we may 
question the absolute necessity) to carry a smoky flame for insuring 
a reducing atmosphere. 

The electrical treatment of this kind of smoke presents little new 
in the way of difficulties from the technical side save in the me- 
chanical details of removing the light fluffy soot from the electrodes 
after deposition. Figures 42 and 43 show two installations for this 


682 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


purpose, the first upon the discharge from the checker brick super- 
heaters in a western gas works where gas for household use is gen- 
erated by the decomposition of crude petroleum, and the second a 
precipitation unit installed on the flue from an 80-horsepower boiler 
at the United States Bureau of Mines Fuel Experiment Station, 
in Pittsburgh. Figures 44 and 45 show the effect upon the appear- 
ance of the stack from this latter unit produced by switching the 
electric current off and on while carrying a badly smoking soft coal 
fire in the furnace. 

In this connection should also be mentioned the work of the late 
Dr. Robert Kennedy Duncan and his associates, in the Mellon Insti- 
tute of Industrial Research, at the University of Pittsburgh. To Dr. 
Dunean is due in a very large measure the credit for bringing to 
public notice in a practical form the possibilities and importance of 
more systematic and effective cooperation between the academic and 
industrial agencies of the country. Asa part of the system of indus- 
trial fellowships which he had built up* and in whose further devel- 
opment he was actively engaged at the time of his death, was one 
group of problems centering about the smoke nuisance with some- 
what more special reference to conditions in Pittsburgh. 

Through the public spirited interest and generosity of the Mellon 
family of that city, these smoke investigations were enabled to as- 
sume a very comprehensive scope, several valuable bulletins? hav- 
ing already been issued as a result. As Prof. Duncan had the good 
fortune to see his dreams grow to a permanent foundation in his life- 
time we may look forward to further results of ever growing useful- 
ness from this source. 

Among the various aspects of the smoke problem which received 
attention at the Mellon Institute was that of electrical precipitation, 
and as a result several papers by Dr. W. W. Strong, one of the 
fellows, bearing particularly upon the theory of the processes, have 
since appeared, together with patents,t upon smoke indicators and 
recorders involving these principles, 


10On certain Problems Connected with the Present-Day Relations Between Chemistry 
and Manufacture in America, by Robert Kennedy Duncan, Jour. Ind. and Eng. Chem., 
vol. 3, pp. 177-186, March, 1911. 

2Mellon Institute of Industrial Research and School of Specific Industries, University 
of Pittsburgh: Bull. No. 1, Outline of the Smoke Investigation; Bull. No. 2, Bibliography 
of Smoke and Smoke Prevention, by Ellwood H. McClelland; Bull. No. 3, Psychological 
Aspects of the Problem of Atmospheric Smoke Pollution, by J. E. Wallace Wallin; Bull. 
No. 4, The Economic Cost of the Smoke Nuisance to Pittsburgh ,by John J. O’Connor, Jr. ; 
Bull. No. 5, The Meteorological Aspect of the Smoke Problem, by Herbert H. Kimball ; 
Bull. No. 6, Papers on the Effect of Smoke on Building Materials, by Raymond C. Benner ; 
sull. No. 7, The Effect of the Soot in Smoke on Vegetation, by J. F’. Clevenger. 

2The Electrical Precipitation of Suspended Matter in Gases, by W. W. Strong, Jour. 
Franklin Inst., vol. 174, pp. 239-263, September, 1912; The Positive and the Negative 
Corona and Electric Precipitation, by W. W. Strong, Proc. Amer. Inst. Hlec. Eng., June 
27, 1913, vol. 32, pp. 1805-1814; The Theory of the Remoyal of Suspended Matter from 
Gases, by W. W. Strong, Jour. of Industrial and Eng. Chem., vol. 5, pp. 858-860, 
October, 1913. 

4U. S. Pats, 1070556, 1071532, and 1096765. 


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PLATE 29. 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Cottrell. 


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Fic. 46.—CONSTRUCTION OF ELECTRICAL PRECIPITATION PLANT AT RIVERSIDE PORTLAND 


CEMENT WORKS. 


SMOKE AND DUST ABATEMENT—COTTRELL. 6838 
PROBLEMS OF THE PORTLAND-CEMENT INDUSTRY. 


The Portland-cement industry is another direction in which the 
precipitation process has proved of very practical importance. The 
first installation of this kind was made under the direction of Mr. 
Walter A. Schmidt at the mill of the Riverside Portland Cement Co. 
near Riverside, Cal. Threatened litigation with the owners of sur- 
rounding orange groves on account of nuisance and damage to fruit 
and trees from the dust clouds of lime and clay escaping from the 
cement kilns was the incentive for the cement company undertaking 
the work. The company had already spent upward of a million 
dollars in purchases of surrounding land and other expenses con- 
nected with the nuisance and damage question, but without securing 
permanent relief. Experimental work on electrical precipitation was 
commenced there in the summer of 1911; and as this was almost the 
first practical extension of the processes to temperatures of 400° 
to 500° C., many new engineering features had to be worked out. 
The details of the final plant seen in construction in figure 46 and 
in its present complete form in figure 47 were worked up through the 
series of preliminary experimental units of progressively increasing 
size shown in figures 48 to 51. Had there been sufficient ground space 
available near the base of the kiln stacks the precipitating units 
might have been placed there and a more compact and far less expen- 
sive installation secured; but as it was, the only available space 
seemed that above the roof at the top of the old stacks. Further- 
more, the cement company preferred to incur this additional expense 
rather than suffer any delay or interruptions of its regular operations 
while changes were being made in the flues or stacks themselves. 

Consequently a reinforced concrete platform 90 by 190 feet was 
built 80 feet above the ground, strong enough to support the entire 
electrical equipment upward of 1,200 tons of steel going into the 
installation as a whole. The present plant consists of 10 rotary 
kilns, each 8 feet in diameter by 100 feet in length, fired with crude 
petroleum and furnishing a total volume of nearly a million cubic 
feet of gas per minute to be treated. Out of this the electrical equip- 
ment now collects nearly a hundred tons of dust per day. Figures 
52 and 53 show the difference in appearance of the plant before and 
after making the electrical installation. In figure 49 can also be seen 
the experimental treater shown in figure 48. Figure 54 shows part of 
five days’ catch of dust sacked and piled. 

The treaters are of somewhat the same general type as those used 
at the Selby and Balaklala smelters, but larger, with wider electrode 
spacing and many improvements over these in details and general 
design. There are 20 of them in all, two to each kiln stack con- 
nected to it on opposite sides through louvre dampers, such as seen in 


684 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


figure 55. The grounded electrodes are plates of heavy wire screen 
reinforced by angle iron ribs, and the discharge electrodes are light 
iron wires. 

Figure 56 shows the operating gallery running the whole length of 
the row of treaters and containing the motor-generator sets, recti- 
fiers, and transformers, together with their control switchboards, as 
well as the compressed-air valves governing the operating machinery 
of the damper and the shaking devices for dislodging the dust from 
the electrodes. This dust falls into hoppers, from whence it passes 
by a system of screw conveyors and automatic scales to the storage 
and car-loading bins. The whole installation requires but one oper- 
ator, and the electrical-power consumption, including motor-gen- 
erator and transformer losses, is about 35 kilowatts. The cost of the 
installation was somewhat less than $200,000. As stated, it was in- 
stalled purely to overcome the dust nuisance, and was not expected 
to return any significant values, as the dust is not finished cement, 
but chiefly raw mix carried out by the gases before it has reached 
the clinkering zone. The raw mix used contains, however, a small 
percentage of potash (usually not exceeding 1 per cent K,O), which 
largely volatilizes and most of which is condensed and caught in solu- 
ble form in the dust, making the latter, even in its crude form, as 
collected, a fertilizing agent which finds a ready market at nearly 
as good a price as the finished cement, or by using it over again in the 
raw mix of a separate kiln a second and higher concentration of the 
potash may be effected in the dust caught from this. 

We thus have another example of a plant, put in at a supposed loss 
purely to avoid trouble with the neighbors, proving not only to cover 
its own operating expenses, but to actually pay a rather handsome 
return on the very considerable investment involved. The plant has 
been in uninterrupted operation on this basis since January 8, 1913. 
As this article goes to press the first unit of similar character east 
of the Mississippi is about to go into service, and in Europe another 
is under construction. 


FURTHER DEVELOPMENT IN PROGRESS. 


A number of other installations, each with its features of special 
interest, might also be referred to, but sufficient has been said to indi- 
cate at least in outline the field developing before these processes. 

As early as 1907 Mr. Erwin Moller, son of Dr. Karl Moller, 
already mentioned as one of the pioneers of electrical precipitation, 
had independently taken up this work in Europe and is now cooper- 
ating with the American investigators whose work is described above 
in the further development of the subject, having also joined with 
them in the assignment of patent rights to the research corporation 
for the benefit of the Smithsonian Institution. 


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“Le aLV1d anogp—'e 161 ‘Hodey ueiuosy}iws 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Cottrell. PLATE 32. 


Fig. 49.—EaARLY EXPERIMENTAL PRECIPITATOR AT RIVERSIDE PORTLAND CEMENT WORKS. 


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Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Cottrell. PLATE 35. 


Fic. 52.—RIVERSIDE PORTLAND CEMENT WORKS BEFORE INSTALLATION OF PERMANENT 
ELECTRIC PRECIPITATION EQUIPMENT. 


Fic. 53.—RIVERSIDE PORTLAND CEMENT WORKS AFTER INSTALLATION OF PERMANENT 
ELECTRIC PRECIPITATION EQUIPMENT. 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Cottrell. PLATE 36. 


Fic. 54.—Five Days’ COLLECTION OF DuST BY ELECTRICAL PRECIPITATION AT RIVERSIDE 
PORTLAND CEMENT WORKS. 


Fig. 55.—DAMPER OF ONE OF THE TWENTY ELECTRIC 
PRECIPITATION CHAMBERS OF THE RIVERSIDE PORTLAND 
CEMENT WORKS. 


PLATE 37 


Cottrell. 


913.— 


1 


sonian Report, 


+h 


Smi 


Fic. 56.—OPERATING GALLERY OF ELECTRIC PRECIPITATION 


NT WokkKS. 


PLANT AT RIVERSIDE PORTLAND CEM 


Fic. 57.—LODGE VACUUM VALVES AND CONTROL APPARATUS. 


SMOKE AND DUST ABATEMENT—COTTRELL. 685 


Sir Oliver Lodge and his sons are also once more active in this 
field and are likewise joining very cordially in the general spirit of 
cooperation. Their recent technical contributions to the subject? 
have been chiefly in the lines of rectification and insulation. Figure 
57 shows some of this high potential current rectifying apparatus, 
the most novel and essential element of which is a special form of 
vacuum tube which permits the current to flow through it only in 
one direction. This may be used either by itself or preferably in 
conjunction with a mechanical rectifier such as those already de- 
scribed. It appears to have been first devised and used for experi- 
ments on the stimulation of growing crops by high potential unidi- 
rectional discharges,” but its applicability and importance in precipi- 
tation work is now being thoroughly investigated, and positive data 
on this from large-scale tests should soon be available. It is only 
within the last year that a really active commercial development of 
the electric precipitation processes has been undertaken in Europe, 
but at the present time several installations are under construction 
in various countries, and it is hoped that later a detailed report of 
this work may also be possible. 


1 British Patents 25047 and 25047a (1905), also 29268 and 29269 (1912). 
2 Jobn Ernest Newman and Lionel Lodge, Brit. Pat. 17046 (1907). 


TWENTY YEARS’ PROGRESS IN MARINE 
CONSTRUCTION.1 


3y ALEXANDER GRACIE, M. V..O., M. Inst. C. Es. 


In order to appreciate fully the progress which has been made 
during the last 20 years in the design and construction of vessels for 
the mercantile marine, it will be useful to consider briefly the factors 
for and against advance, so as the better to realize in what direction 
forward steps have been and may still be possible. 

The driving forces toward all progress are healthy discontent 
with what has been done and the satisfaction derived from greater 
achievement, quite as much as the hope of material gain. The aim 
of the shipowner, the naval architect, and the marine engineer is 
ever toward increased comfort, speed, and economy. 

Increase in size is undoubtedly the most valuable resource of the 
naval architect, as it is directly conducive to the attainment of these 
three desiderata. The greater the length of a vessel in proportion 
to her total weight, the smaller becomes the power in relation to her 
displacement and speed. Greater size gives more deck space for pas- 
senger accommodation, greater height above water, and less disturb- 
ance due to wave motion; hence, greater comfort. The earning fac- 
tors, space and displacement, are increased in greater ratio than the 
cost factors, and thus economy is obtained. 

A concrete example illustrative of these principles may possibly be 
of interest. J will take the case of a cargo vessel having a speed of 
13 knots at sea over a 3,000-mile voyage. On a length of 400 feet 
we can construct a vessel weighing 3,700 tons which would carry 
4,000 tons of cargo and consume 500 tons of coal. Each 100 tons of 
cargo, therefore, involves 92$ tons of constructive material and 124 
tons of coal per voyage. <A vessel 500 feet in length would weigh 
6,750 tons, would carry 8,700 tons of cargo, and consume 700 tons of 
coal. Each 100 tons of cargo in this case requires only 774 tons of 
vessel and 8 tons of fuel. 

The practical success of the large vessel depends, of course, upon 
the volume of passenger and cargo traflic she can command, and this 


1The James Forrest Lecture for 1913, delivered at meeting of the Institution of Civil 
Engineers, London, Oct. 23, 1913. Reprinted by permission from “ Excerpt Minutes of 
Proceedings of The Institution of Civil Engineers,” vol. 194, session 1912-1913, pt. 4. 


687 


688 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


varies greatly on the different trade routes. It is notably greatest 
upon the Atlantic, and in this trade we find the most rapid growth in 
dimensions. 

It is the continued aim of the naval designer to realize the greatest 
dimensions which the shipowner can utilize on the least possible 
weights of hull, machinery, and fuel. Every improvement in the 
quality of materials, every advance in the better distribution of those 
materials toward the end in view, every reduction in the weight of 
machinery and of fuel in relation to horsepower, and every pro- 
gression toward the more effective use of the power developed, is 
a step toward the ideal large, powerful, and comparatively light 
vessel. 

The introduction of iron about the year 1820, of steel about 1870, 
of the compound engine in 1854, and of the triple-expansion engine 
in 1881, were the most notable epoch makers of the first 80 years of 
steam navigation. The study of the strength problem by means of 
the “ girder ” theory and the labors of the classification societies have 
shown how to combine strength with lightness. The introduction 
of the experimental tank method of research gave us a definite means 
of designing form and propellers, so that the least possible amount 
of power is wasted and the greatest possible amount is usefully 
appled. 

Up to the beginning of the period under consideration the changes 
which had taken place in marine engineering had been shown in a 
gradual development of the simple type of reciprocating steam 
engine. The growing knowledge of the theoretical principles in- 
volved in design, the higher standard of materials available for 
construction, and the steady improvement in machine tools, had 
enabled engineers successfully to make use of higher steam pressures. 
The advance marked by the successful introduction of the compound 
engine about the year 1854 had been followed in 1881 by the intro- 
duction of the triple-expansion type of engine, and the three-crank 
design of the latter proved itself so fit a variation that it has sur- 
vived, unchanged in all essentials, to the present day. Thus 20 years 
ago the triple-expansion engine was in the position of rapidly super- 
seding the compound type in almost all services, and was being suc- 
cessfully constructed to work in conjunction with steel cylindrical 
boilers working at a pressure of 160 pounds per square inch; both 
engines and boilers being, in general design, not greatly different 
from those of the same type which are being built at the present 
time. 

I can best convey to you the condition of marine construction at 
the beginning of the 20-year period immediately under review by 
recalling some of the most notable achievements of that time. 


PROGRESS IN MARINE CONSTRUCTION—GRACIE. 689 


On the Atlantic the premier vessel was the Campania, then re- 
garded as a “monster” ship. It was thought by many that the limit 
of size had been reached and that so large a vessel could never be 
made commercially successful. She was 600 feet in length, with a 
beam of 65 feet and a depth of 41 feet 6 inches. Her gross tonnage 
was 13,000, her trial speed 22 knots, and her horsepower 30,000. She 
was, of course, fitted with twin screws, and her engines were of the 
triple-expansion type, with five cylinders working on three cranks. 

The condensers were of cast iron, and, as was usual at that time, 
formed part of the engine framing. No arrangements were made for 
balancing the inertia effects of the reciprocating parts. The main 
boilers were of the double-ended cylindrical type, with a working 
pressure of 165 pounds per square inch. They burned about 14 pounds 
of coal per indicated horsepower-hour and 480 tons daily. Of 
Campania’s displacement 485 per cent was devoted to hull, 214 per 
cent to machinery, 14} per cent to fuel, 44 per cent to passengers, 
stores, and water, and 11 per cent to cargo. 

The Campania carried 570 first-class, 300 second-class, and 600 
third-class passengers, and a crew of 400. Her first-class public 
rooms were six in number; they occupied a total area of 9,214 square 
feet, or an average of about 16 square feet per passenger, while the 
average stateroom area was about 174 square feet per person. The 
average number of persons per room was 3.2. Second-class passen- 
gers had each but 8 square feet of public room and 14 square feet 
of stateroom. 

Compared with the most modern vessels of large size the Campania 
was shallow, the ratio of length to structural depth being 14.45. 
In consequence of her somewhat unfavorable proportions as a girder 
the scantlings of her gunwale and bottom had to be very heavy in 
order to obtain the necessary longitudinal strength, and it was some 
years before ships were built in which the upper member of the 
strength girder was raised to a higher deck. The Kaiser Wilhelm 
der Grosse, built in 1897, surpassed Campania in length by 25 feet, 
but although her sides amidships, as in most subsequent vessels, were 
plated one deck space higher than in Campania, the plating was com- 
paratively light, the deck to which it extended was not plated over, 
and the top member of her strength girder remained at the upper 
deck, the length-depth ratio being slightly in excess of that of 
Campania. Her ocean speed was about 22% knots, with 30,000 indi- 
cated horsepower. Her ccal capacity was 4,600 tons. She had 
accommodation for 600 first-class, 300 second-class, and 800 third- 
class passengers. 

In 1900 came the Deutschland, 663 feet in length, similar in appear- 
ance and structural arrangements to her immediate predecessor, her 


44863°—sm 1918——44 


690 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


length-depth ratio being over 15, and the main girder stopping at 
the upper deck level, 44 feet above the keel. Her horsepower was in 
the neighborhood of 35,000 and her ocean speed was about 234 knots; 
capacity for 4,800 tons of coal was provided. The engines were of 
the greatest actual dimensions reached in the reciprocating type, 
and were of the four-crank quadruple design. The Deutschland 
accommodated 700 first-class passengers in 266 rooms, an average of 
about 2.6 persons per room; 300 second-class, and 290 third-class 
passengers. Luxuries were beginning to creep in, some of the state- 
rooms having a private bathroom attached, while for the suites as 
much as £250 was charged for a single voyage. 

In 1901 length was increased by 20 feet in the Celtic, built for the 
White Star Line; she was 680 feet in length, with a beam of 75 feet 
and a depth of girder of about 52 feet. In this, as in most vessels of 
the White Star fleet, only a comparatively low speed was provided. 
The consequent smallness of horsepower reduced both first cost and 
fuel consumption, while the fuller form gave roomier deck spaces 
and greater dead-weight carrying capacity. Since the total dead- 
weight was augmented and the proportion given up to coal reduced 
there was a twofold increase in the weight of freight-earning cargo. 
Speed is an expensive item. On the length of 680 feet a 16-knot ves- 
sel can carry 12,000 tons of cargo on an expenditure of 2,000 tons of 
coal over an Atlantic voyage, while an advance in speed to 22 knots 
would reduce cargo to 3,000 tons and involve a coal consumption of 
3,500 tons, besides increasing first cost by about 25 per cent. 

Next year came Aaiser Wilhelm II, 684 feet long and 444 feet in 
depth to her upper deck, but with her sides plated all fore and aft 
up to the level of a continuous promenade deck 84 feet above the up- 
per deck. Her depth of girder was thus 524 feet, and her length- 
depth ratio only 13. <A better distribution of structural material was 
realized, and excessively heavy local scantlings were avoided. Be- 
sides having her main structural weights higher than usual, she had 
one deck more above her main structure than any of her predecessors, 
and these additions to the weight and height of her upper structure 
necessitated a corresponding increase in breadth, which was made 72 
feet, as compared with Campania’s 65 feet and Deutschland’s 67 feet. 
Similar increments in transverse dimensions in relation to length 
have characterized all subsequent advances, and the number of super- 
structures has steadily increased in order to afford deck space for 
the greater number of public rooms and more spacious cabin accom- 
modation by which each successive vessel was rendered more and yet 
more attractive. Hatser Wilhelm IT had four engine rooms, in which 
were developed about 45,000 indicated horsepower, and a speed of 
over 234 knots was maintained at sea. Her coal capacity was 5,000 
tons. Accommodation was provided for 770 first-class, 350 second- 


PROGRESS IN MARINE CONSTRUCTION—-GRACIE. 691 


class, and 780 third-class passengers. Four hundred pounds was 
charged for a suite of rooms. 

The power transmitted per shaft in this vessel was about 25 per 
cent greater than in the previous unit, and two three-crank quadruple 
engines were fitted to each line of shafting in order to reduce the 
dimensions of the cylinders and working parts, a scheme which lent 
itself naturally to more complete subdivision into watertight com- 
partments. This arrangement, which was also tried in some naval 
vessels, was, however, not repeated in later practice. The machinery 
of this ship exerts the largest power of any installation of reciprocat- 
ing engines in the merchant service, the next advance in total effort 
being with turbine machinery. 

Within the next few years there appeared the Cedric, Amerika, 
and Kaiserin Augusta Victoria, all about 680 feet in length, and car- 
rying still further the development in number and extent of super- 
structures, public rooms, and luxurious cabin accommodation. The 
Amerika had six decks above the water line, as compared with Cam- 
pania’s four. In none of these vessels was high speed attempted. 

The further development of the reciprocating engine since the be- 
ginning of the period under survey has been in the use of still higher 
initial pressure and in the extension of the range of useful pressure 
in the quadruple-expansion type of engine. The use of higher pres- 
sure followed naturally upon the success of the triple engine, and 
for pressures above 180 pounds per square inch the quadruple type 
became necessary in order to take the fullest advantage of the in- 
creased heat energy available in the steam. 

Compared with the gain in fuel economy effected by the triple- 
expansion over the compound engine, the further improvement due 
to the increase in steam pressure to 215 or 220 pounds is naturally 
small, being about 7 to 8 per cent, and against this has to be put the 
increased weight, cost, and upkeep of the quadruple type. For ships 
trading on long voyages, and more especially for passenger ships, or 
large units, where a four-crank engine would be fitted in any case, 
on account of its greater smoothness in running, the quadruple engine 
has now superseded the triple-expansion type; but in the case of 
cargo carriers, where low first cost and easy supervision are primary 
conditions, the triple engine still holds its own. 

In the essential design of the reciprocating main engine, improve- 
ments seem difficult to attain. Some changes, however, may be 
noted. Condensers are now usually kept separate from the main 
framing, and, in order better to withstand extremes of temperature, 
are frequently constructed of mild steel, instead of being cast as 
formerly; much more attention is also given to their design, with 
a view to improve thermal results. Air pumps have been improved 
in design, and in most large or fast-running machinery are now 


Sd 


692 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


fitted as separate auxiliary engines, instead of being driven from 
the crossheads, Attention has been directed to devising means of 
balancing the engines in order to reduce vibration troubles. The 
first attempt to solve the problem of balancing was made by Messrs. 
Yarrow, and the method known as the Yarrow-Schlick-Tweedy sys- 
tem is now adopted in most engines of the four-crank type. This 
method consists in arranging the relative positions of the various 
reciprocating and revolving masses by adjusting the angles between 
the cranks so that the inertia effects are reduced to a minimum. 
Reduction in fuel consumption has been obtained by the collective 
effect of a number of small savings; by the improved condenser and 
air pump; by the utilization of the auxiliary exhaust for feed heat- 
ing; and by heat economy. in various ways. 

In the constant endeavor to provide greater intensity in powér pro- 
duction, increase in piston speed and rate of revolution has been 
achieved through experience in design and a better quality of mate- 
rial and workmanship; but where conditions of exceptional power, 
or lightness per unit of power, or both of these, have to be considered, 
the limitations of the reciprocating type of engine become apparent. 
In addition to the difficulties of construction and management of 
very large units, the reciprocating engine had, as already remarked, 
reached a point where further improvement in steam consumption 
was not easily attained, while further reduction in weight involved 
increase in speed of rotation, with its attendant difficulties. Thus the 
introduction of the steam turbine proved opportune, by providing a 
way to further progress in economy, lightness, and the construction 
of very large units, while at the same time eliminating vibration 
troubles and relieving difficulties of engine-room management, 

The turbine entered the Atlantic lists in 1905, when the Victorian 
and Virginian, 520 feet in length, took up their stations, and in 1905 
the 650-foot Carmania also used the new motor. 

The 700-foot mark was passed in 1906 by the building of the White 
Star liner Adriatic, 709 feet by 75 feet by 56 feet, with twin-screw 
quadruple-expansion engines of about 15,000 indicated horsepower. 

Her speed was but 15 knots, and she carried 450 first-class, 500 
second-class and 1,400 third-class passengers, 2,500 tons of coal, and 
6,500 tons of cargo. Of her total displacement, hull claimed about 
56 per cent; machinery, 10 per cent; fuel, 8 per cent; cargo, 21 per 
cent; passengers, stores, and water, about 5 per cent. A comparison 
of these approximate figures with those already given for the Cam- 
pania shows that, per annum, the Adriatic could carry twice as many 
passengers and three and a half times as much cargo per ton of fuel 
as the Campania. This well illustrates the cost of speed, and justi- 
fies the enhanced rates charged to those availing themselves of the 
faster vessels. 


PROGRESS IN MARINE CONSTRUCTION—GRACIE. 693 


The turbine, having proved its worth in the realm of high power 
and fast steaming, was boldly adopted by the Cunard Co. in the 
Lusitania and Mauretania, built in 1907. These vessels surpassed all 
others, with a length of 760 feet, 88 feet of beam, and 604 feet depth 
of girder, The girder ratio was thus about 124, and for the first time 
high-tensile steel was utilized in the upper member to meet the 
higher stresses. Some lightening of structure was thus obtained. 
These ships were the first mercantile vessels to have four lines of 
shafting, and practically the whole of the vessel’s length was occu- 
pied by boilers, machinery, and fuel. About 68,000 horsepower was 
developed, and an ocean speed of between 25 and 26 knots regularly 
maintained on an expenditure of about 5,000 tons of coal per voyage. 
Although already surpassed in dimensions, these two vessels retain 
their supremacy in speed unchallenged. 

In 1908 a further step was taken with a view to securing a greater 
reduction in steam consumption per effective horsepower. This con- 
sisted in the combined use of the reciprocating steam engine and 
turbine in order to retain the low speed of revolution of the recipro- 
cating engine, with its accompanying favorable propeller efficiency, 
while at the same time effectively utilizing the expansion of the steam 
to the condenser pressure. The first ship to be thus fitted was the 
Otaki, a vessel of 464 feet in length and about 9,900 tons dead weight 
capacity ; and a comparison of this ship with a sister ship fitted with 
ordinary twin-screw quadruple-expansion engines showed a differ- 
ence of about 20 per cent in steam consumption per effective horse- 
power in favor of the combination type of machinery. 

The system is principally suited to vessels of fairly large power, 
moderate speed, and for service on long voyages. The usual practice 
has been to fit the reciprocating engines on the wing shafts, and 
the exhaust turbine on a center shaft, an arrangement being made 
for exhausting the steam from the reciprocating engine direct to the 
condenser, and thus cutting out the turbine during maneuvering. © 
Combination machinery, as compared with all reciprocating machin- 
ery, involves more complexity and cost, and a slight increase of 
weight in the engine room; but the improved economy realizable 
allows of reductions in the boiler capacity and in boiler room and 
fuel weights, which more or less compensate for this, The influence 
of the last item is dependent on the length of voyage. 

In 1911 a length of 850 feet was reached in the White Star liner 
Olympic. This luxurious vessel measures 852 feet by 92 feet by 64 
feet, and has a speed of 21 knots with 46,000 horsepower combination 
machinery driving three screws. She carries 735 first-class, 674 second- 
class, and 1,026 third-class passengers, and has the following public 
rooms: Gymnasium, reading and writing room, lounge, smoke room, 
veranda and palm court, restaurant, reception room, dining saloon, 


694 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


racquet court, swimming bath, and Turkish baths. Each of her finest 
suites consists of sitting room, two bedrooms, bathroom, and clothes 
rooms, and occupies 800 square feet or 160 square feet per person ac- 
commodated. 

To-day the largest vessel afloat is the 7mperator, 880 feet by 90 
feet by 63 feet. Her girder ratio is 10.7, and she has eight decks above 
her water line. With boilers of the Yarrow type and turbines of 
62,000 horsepower driving four shafts, she has an ocean speed of 
294 knots. She carries 900 first-class, 800 second-class and 2,700 
third-class passengers, with a crew of 1,200, or 5,400 persons in all. 
Her accommodation is the latest word in spaciousness and luxury. 
For first-class passengers there are two large and three smaller dining 
saloons, restaurant, grillroom, ladies’ room, ballroom, winter garden, 
smoke room, gymnasium, swimming bath, and Turkish baths, the total 
area given up to public rooms being 36,000 square feet, or about 40 
square feet per passenger. She has 446 first-class staterooms, includ- 
ing 12 suites, the average number of persons per room being thus 
practically two, and the average room area 80 square feet per person. 

In the all-turbine installation for the merchant service the turbines 
have been mostly of the compound type—that is, with the steam pass- 
ing through two turbines in series—the usual arrangement being a 
three-shaft one, having one high-pressure turbine and two low-pres- 
sure turbines, with the exhaust from the high-pressure turbine pass- 
ing through the two low-pressure turbines in parallel. Only in some 
few cases has a twin-screw arrangement been adopted—that is, with 
the high-pressure turbine on one shaft and the low-pressure turbine 
on the other—but a similar arrangement, duplicated, has been applied 
to many of the largest installations, both naval and merchant, by 
fitting two independent sets, of two turbines each, working on four 
lines of shafting. With a view to improving the steam economy in 
the all-turbine system, a further development has been introduced in 
some recent ships of large power having a four-shaft arrangement, by 
passing the steam through three turbines in series. The steam passes 
through the high-pressure turbine to the intermediate-pressure tur- 
bine, and then through the two low-pressure turbines in parallel, 
there being one turbine on each line of shaft. The result of this is 
that for the same overall length of each turbine unit (a matter of 
some practical moment) the steam passes through a greater number 
of rows of blades and a condition of improved efficiency is gained, 
while a reduction of the blade leakage is obtained, due to the rela- 
tively greater length of blade as compared with the alternative two- 
series design. The improved turbine-efficiency resulting from this 
arrangement thus increases the range of speed at which an all-turbine 
set can successfully compete with the reciprocating engine. Several 
ships with turbine machinery of this three-series type have lately 


PROGRESS IN MARINE CONSTRUCTION—GRACIE. 695 


been put on service, with very satisfactory results even at compara- 
tively low speeds. 

The rapid development of the large, luxurious and fast liner which 
I have just traced has been due to the exceptionally favorable condi- 
tions of the Atlantic route. Here there is a large and steady stream 
of passenger traffic, a demand for expensive and luxurious accommo- 
dation, and a comparatively short distance between terminals. Fuel 
of the best quality can be readily obtained on both shores. Upon the 
other great ocean highways of the world these advantages do not 
exist. The Pacific lane from Vancouver to Nagasaki is 67 per cent 
longer than that from Liverpool to New York, Vancouver to Mel- 
bourne 148 per cent longer, London to Melbourne 315 per cent, and 
Southampton to Cape Town 95 per cent. Neither Japanese, British 
Columbian, Australian, nor South African coal is equal to Welsh coal 
in calorific value, but on the Pacific oil fuel is easily obtained, and is 
already beginning to be largely used. In no case does the volume of 
passenger traffic approach that across the Atlantic. As a consequence 
competition is less keen, there are fewer vessels, a less number of voy- 
ages per vessel, and the vessels themselves are smaller and of less 
speed. Nevertheless considerable progress has been made in size, 
accommodation, comfort, speed, and economy, although the advance 
in speed has not been so marked as that between Britain and America. 

No less interesting than vessels of the liner class are those 
smaller passenger carriers known as cross-channel steamers. Be- 
tween different ports in the United Kingdom and between British 
-and continental ports there has always been a large passenger traffic 
and the competition between the various railway and other com- 
panies has developed a large fleet of small vessels, whose speeds vie 
with those of Atlantic liners and whose speed-length ratios, or ratios 
of speed to square root._of length, are generally in excess of liner 
practice. 

The conditions of these cross-channel services differ materially 
from those of the liners’ routes. The distances are much shorter, 
ranging from 21 to 120 miles only, and the number of times the 
vessels enter harbor is much greater. 

The quantity of fuel which must be carried is therefore much less, 
and economy of consumption is relatively of smaller influence. It 
is of greater importance to keep down tonnage, to save dues, and to 
reduce weight wherever possible in order to obtain high speeds upon 
small dimensions. Very few of the vessels are classed, and the 
scantlings in all cases are kept as low as possible. In many cases 
harbor accommodation imposes severe restrictions upon length and 
draft. 

Twenty years ago the majority of these vessels were paddle steam- 
ers. These were gradually replaced by twin-screw steamers, and 


696 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


these again were superseded by turbine-propelled craft, which to-day 
are practically universal in the channel services. 

Typical vessels in 1893 were the paddle steamer Calais Douvres 
and the twin-screw Jbea. 

The Calais. Douvres was 324 feet in length, 36 feet in breadth, and 
14 feet deep; of 1,065 gross tons and 6,000 indicated horsepower, she 
had a speed of 20.64 knots and a speed-length ratio of 1.15. 

She was unclassed, her hull weighing 805 tons and her machinery 
650 tons—94 indicated horsepower per ton—and she carried 103 tons 
of coal. Her displacement was made up as follows: 


Per cent. 

5 GO tet ttt Na a hp Re sep See ee seas ath hee a2 eee alr shores 48 
Machinery s Ais stot sate cit le ee ANS al ee 2 A ae ee 39 
CC UN EEN Ee PU ao EE BEY Ee 6 
Passengers stores, and waters. 2 ee eee 7 
100 


Her accommodation consisted of 10 deck staterooms, furnished 
with sofas only, and large, open saloons below deck. She carried 
580 first-class and 300 second-class day passengers. 

The Jbex, of 1,062 gross tons, measured 265 feet by 324 feet by 
154 feet, and with 4,200 indicated horsepower realized a speed of 
19.37 knots, the speed-length ratio being 1.19. Her machinery devel- 
oped 104 indicated horsepower per ton and her weights were thus 
distributed : 


Per cent. 
ERS SUE 2a Ue tas. Se OE Se 60 
Mave hime reyes texte | as vee ch ny ae ee eee 30 
Conde tie 7 ewe a he ie ee 2 eee 43 
Passenversy.stores, and water2eo2 os. Te eee 5s 
100 


Her accommodation consisted of two private cabins and a number 
of open saloons with sleeping accommodation on sofa berths. She 
carried 292 first-class and 265 second-class day passengers. 

Other notable vessels of this period were: 


Speed- 

Name. Machinery. Length. | Tonnage.| Speed. length 

ratio. 
‘Princesseyelenriette: ase. 255... ss see Paddles. eee 300 1, 100 20.50 1.18 
1 O77) 010) (6 BG es ee ee eam n ne sor |scane Goss ses one ee 340 1,367 22.00 1.19 
Princess) Maya hace 2 ss ehess. 35 Se eich eee dorsts See 280 1,123 20. 00 1.19 
TRULISOtmes saeco ae cence ee Se. eae Twin screw.....-- 269 892 21.35 1.30 
Hredericaseas... Pisete abe. cat Sees. os GOR shes. Sas 265 1,059 19.50 1.20 


During the succeeding 10 years many other similar vessels were 
put into service, their lengths ranging from about 270 up to 300 feet 
and their speeds from 19 to 24 knots. The most remarkable of these 
were perhaps the four screw steamers Connaught, Leinster, Munster, 


PROGRESS IN MARINE CONSTRUCTION——GRACIE. 697 


and Ulster, which, on a length of 360 feet, attained a speed of 244 
knots, a speed-length ratio of 1.28, and the Zmpress Queen, still the 
largest paddle vessel in this country, 360 feet in length and of 214 
knots speed. 

In 1903, encouraged by the success of the turbine steamers Hing 
Edward and Queen Alexandra, built, respectively, in 1901 and 1902 
for service on the Firth of Clyde, the first turbine channel steamer, 
The Queen, was placed on the Dover-Calais route. This notable ves- 
sel, 310 feet by 40 feet by 25 feet, of 1,676 gross tons, has turbine 
machinery of about 8,500 horsepower, and attained a speed of 21.8 
knots, equal to 1.24 times the square root of her length. In the same 
year the turbine steamer Brighton, 274 feet in length, steamed 21.37 
knots, giving a speed-length ratio of 1.29. The success of these two 
vessels led to a rapid development of turbine propulsion, and the 
almost total abandonment of reciprocating machinery in the channel 
services. In 1905 the Princess Hlizabeth, with turbines and water- 
tube boilers, made 24 knots on 357 feet, and the Dzeppe, with turbines 
and cylindrical boilers and classed at Lloyd’s, brought the speed- 
length ratio up to 1.31, with 21.65 knots and a length of 274 feet. 

To attain high speeds in relation to length, saving of weight is of 
vital importance, and the advantages of' water-tube boilers in this 
respect are considerable. All that prevented their more general 
adoption was their lack of robustness and the greater care and skill 
required in handling them, as compared with the well-tried and 
well-known Scotch type of steam raiser. By their use in the tur- 
bine steamer Newhaven, built in 1910 as successor to the Dieppe, a 
trial speed of 23.85 knots was obtained on a length of 292 feet, the 
speed-length ratio being raised to 1.4. This result was made possi- 
ble by the extreme lightness of the machinery installation in relation 
to the power developed, 13,000 horsepower being obtained from a 
weight of only 590 tons. Thus 22 shaft horsepower was developed 
per ton, about two and a half times that obtained from paddle ma- 
chinery and double the output of twin-screw reciprocating engines. 
The displacement of the Newhaven was 1,510 tons, only 200 tons in 
excess of that of the Dieppe, although the later vessel was 18 feet 
longer and twice as powerful. 

The outstanding difficulty in applying the steam turbine to marine 
propulsion has always been that while high speed of rotation is neces- 
sary to obtain the maximum turbine efficiency, the propellers are most 
efficient at very much lower speeds. Electric, hydraulic, and gear- 
wheel transmission have each been used to combine a high-speed 
turbine with a slow-running propeller in order to obtain the maxi- 
mum efficiency of each. 

Where a suitable gear ratio can be adopted, not only can improved 
propeller efficiency and decreased consumption of steam per unit of 


698 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


power developed be obtained, but it is possible, by overspeeding the 
turbines at full power, to maintain the economy over a larger range 
of the ship’s speed than could be done with a direct-coupled turbine. 
With the gear-wheel method of speed reduction a considerable amount 
of experience has now been obtained, and up to the present time two 
small cargo vessels and seven cross-channel steamers have been put on 
service, while four sets each of about 12,000 horsepower are under 
construction, two for ocean liners and two for swift coasters. 

In 1911 the channel steamers Vormannia and Hantonia were each 
fitted with four turbines, two running at 2,000 and two at 1,400 revo- 
lutions, and connected by means of toothed-wheel gearing to two pro- 
peller shafts running at 310 revolutions per minute. The experi- 
ment was a notable success, the coal consumed per trip being only 48 
tons as compared with the 70 tons used by the immediately preceding 
vessels, which were of the same capacity but propelled by direct- 
driven three-screw turbines. 

Last summer the channel steamer Paris, 2934 feet in length and 
having geared turbine propulsion, attained the remarkable speed of 
25.07 knots on a run from Newhaven to Dieppe, the speed-length ratio 
working out at 1.47—a result which has only been surpassed by tor- 
pedo craft. 

The introduction of toothed gearing for the main drive has been 
looked upon by many as a retrograde step. The conditions are, how- 
ever, In no way similar to those in which formerly gearing up was 
necessary, and where a very variable turning moment in the recipro- 
cating engine had to be contended with. The loss in transmission is 
small, being probably not more than 2 per cent of the power trans- 
mitted, and the wear on the teeth is inappreciable. Some objection 
has been raised to the noise caused by the gearing, but, although 
doubtless not so silent as the direct-driven turbine, the geared-turbine 
installation can compare favorably with the reciprocating engine in 
this respect. The actual vibration transmitted through the struc- 
ture of the ship is inappreciable; the effect of the gearing being felt 
altogether in an air vibration in the engine room itself, and this will 
be reduced to a minimum with the more accurate methods of gear 
cutting recently introduced. 

The large speed reduction which can be effected makes the system 
suitable for ships of low speed and moderate power, and it is almost 
certain that this method will greatly extend the usefulness of the 
steam turbine for marine propulsion. 

In Germany the hydraulic transmitter invented by Dr. Fottinger 
has lately been developed. The principle of the transmitter is that 
cf combining a high-speed turbo-centrifugal pump with a water 
turbine designed for a lower speed of revolution. The former 


PROGRESS IN MARINE CONSTRUCTION—GRACIE. 699 


is coupled direct to the steam turbine and the latter to the pro- 
peller shaft, the pump and water turbine being placed in one casing 
and so designed that the frictional and eddy losses are reduced as 
far as possible. Some small installations have been fitted for marine 
purposes, a transmitter has been tested with a load of 10,000 shaft 
horsepower, and it is proposed to fit several large German vessels 
with the system. A transmission efficiency of about 90 per cent is 
claimed at full load, with a slight reduction at light loads. The 
ratio of primary to secondary speed is normally about 5:1, but trans- 
mitters could be designed for larger ratios. 

Electrical transmission has now been applied to several vessels. 
Alternative schemes have been tried in which the power is generated 
by steam turbo-generators, and by generators driven by Diesel oil 
engines, and applied to the propeller by alternating-current motors. 
Considering the transmission efficiencies likely to be attained and 
the increased weight and initial cost of the installation, it does not 
appear probable that a.system of this kind will be able to compete 
successfully, in ordinary cases, with the direct-driving engine or 
mechanically geared turbine. Where, however, power has to be 
provided for other than propelling purposes (in which case the same 
generating plant could be available), it is possible that this system 
would have advantages. 

Within the period under review, vessels built solely for the purpose 
of carrying cargo have undergone notable development. The prin- 
cipal object of the owner of such vessels is to secure improved econ- 
omy in each successive addition to his fleet, speed and accommodation 
being secondary considerations. And here again I have the same 
story to tell—the story of increase in dimensions and of reduction in 
fuel consumption in relation to work done. 

The following table shows the steady advance in the vessels of one 
well-known line of cargo tramps: 

Tons, dead-weight. 


“CaN BSS Se Cr ee See eat fee Oe PONE ee 28 ee Pee 6, 400 
TROT 22 Las Ete Ne Sate ieee aaa rare Uhl ae 7, 200 
ie peu nme NTU AL. 108 St 8, 200 
SST Sig sped ate ee US el 0 EN eR nl 9, 300 
HOTS ME MO GELUDIE IW A ATIOE TOS a tO 9, 600 


The speed has remained practically constant at 11 knots, but while 
the 6,400-ton dead-weight carrier of 1895 developed 1,400 indicated 
horsepower and consumed 24 tons of coal daily, her successor of to- 
day can carry 9,600 tons and steam at the same speed on an expendi- 
ture of only 32 tons daily for 2,300 indicated horsepower. Fifty 
per cent more dead weight is carried and 64 per cent more power 

developed, but only 83 per cent has been added to the coal account. 


700 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


The coal rate has fallen from 1.6 pounds per horsepower per hour to 
1.3 pounds, while for a 3,000-mile voyage the dead weight carried 
per ton of coal has increased from 23.5 tons to 26.4 tons. 

Rapid loading and discharge of cargo are of vital importance to 
the tramp vessel, and it is evident that the less the cargo has to be 
moved horizontally along holds and *tween decks before coming 
under the hatchways to be lifted, the more rapidly can it be handled. 
Hatches have therefore increased greatly in size, and in some vessels 
are now almost continuous, and in breadth nearly equal to half the 
vessel’s beam. With the same object of facilitating the passage of 
cargo to and from the hatchways, hold pillars have almost disap- 
peared, and in place of the double row of slender pillars at intervals 
of about 4 feet, we find large open holds and decks supported by con- 
tinuous longitudinal girders under the beams and four large plate- 
and-angle pillars only. 

The steam winch still remains the best means of handling cargo, 
being more robust and less complicated than either electric or 
hydraulic plants. The winches themselves have been greatly im- 
proved, and instead of a single 6-inch by 10-inch winch at each hatch 
and chain falls we find a pair of 8-inch by 12-inch machines with 
helical gearing and wire-rope pendants. The normal derrick is now 
of steel tube for a 6-ton lift in place of the old 3-ton wood derrick, 
while a special steel derrick at each end of the vessel can handle a 
load of 30 tons. At the same time the size of the drums has in- 
creased from 12 inches to 24 inches and the working pressure from 
50 to 100 pounds. Larger wearing surfaces have been provided and 
locomotive-type valves fitted, so that the cargo winch of to-day is 
not only more powerful and more rapid than its predecessor, but has 
also greater immunity from breakdown. 

Crews’ accommodation has been greatly improved. Comfortable 
mess rooms are now provided separately from sleeping quarters; 
galvanized-iron berths have replaced wooden bunks; steam heating 
and stoves are provided; each man has a locker fitted with drawers 
for his clothes, and his chest goes to a separate storeroom; there are 
plunge and shower baths for seamen and for firemen as well as for 
the captain, officers, and engineers, and a well-equipped hospital is 
provided. 

The triple-expansion engine still holds its place in the engine room 
of the cargo tramp. The fourth cylinder of a quadruple engine 
would mean additional complication and one or two additional engi- 
neers. Three main boilers of equal size are used, two under forced 
draft for propulsive purposes, the third under natural draft for 
dealing with cargo and to assist the others in cases of emergency 
when a little extra speed is called for. 


PROGRESS IN MARINE CONSTRUCTION—GRACIE. 701 


In comparison with the 1.000 tons of coal consumed daily by the 
swift liner, the 30 tons of the cargo tramp appears so small that it 
would seem hardly worth while to attempt to reduce it; but the one- 
half pound of oil per brake horsepower-hour of the Diesel engine, 
together with the saving in weight and space and in time for bunker- 
ing, is already attracting the attention of the owners of cargo 
vessels, and the economy of the geared turbine proposition is also 
being considered. 

In numbers and dimensions there has been a rapid development 
of vessels built for the carriage of petroleum in bulk. In 1893 
Lloyd’s Register contained the names of 47 vessels engaged in carry- 
ing oil cargoes, and 17 were in course of construction. The largest 
on service was the Z'urbo, 350 feet in length, and capable of carrying 
5,000 tons of oil in bulk. To-day there are 370 oil vessels on the 
register, the largest being the San Fraterno, 530 feet in length, and 
loading 15,700 tons of oil. 

Vessels specially fitted with refrigerated holds for the carriage of 
perishable cargoes, such as fruit and meat, have also been greatly 
developed and improved. 

The steam yacht has passed through structural changes not dis- 
similar to those which have affected mercantile vessels. Dimensions 
have generally increased and superstructures have been added. The 
weather deck is now higher above water, and the principal accommo- 
dation and public rooms are carried out to the ship’s side in place of 
being confined to a long deckhouse. Turbine propulsion has in 
many cases been adopted with success in place of reciprocating 
engines. 

I regret that within the limits of the time at my disposal this 
evening I can not refer in detail to many other notable changes 
which have taken place during the past 20 years, such as the disap- 
pearance of the sailing ship, the wide application of engine power to 
fishing boats, barges, and other small craft, and the remarkable 
performances of the hydroplane boat. These would of themselves 
iake up an entire evening. 

With regard to the changes in boiler design and construction, these 
have been small. The cylindrical boiler has remained almost un- 
changed in general design during the last 20 years. Boiler shell 
plating, owing to the higher pressures now adopted, is much heavier, 
and where weight is a consideration is often of high-tensile steel. 
Boilers of the water-tube type, which have entirely superseded those 
of the cylindrical type in warships, have made but little progress in 
the favor of the average shipowner, and have been adopted only to a 
very limited extent in merchant ships in this country. Recently, 
however, their great advantages in lightness have secured their adop- 


702 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


tion in several channel steamers, and some small Australian vessels 
liave been fitted with boilers of the Babcock-Wilcox type. A con- 
siderable departure has been made in the fitting of the large German 
Atlantic vessel /mmperator with boilers of the Yarrow type; and in a 
large liner at present under construction on the Clyde, Babcock- 
Wilcox water-tube boilers are being adopted. 

The increasing cost of fuel, and the economy obtainable by the use 
of superheated steam, has tended to hasten development in that direc- 
tion, and a fair number of ships, including the liner under construc- 
tion, just referred to, are being fitted with superheaters. A saving 
of 10 to 15 per cent in fuel consumption has been shown to be pos- 
sible, and it is likely that superheating will be much more widely 
adopted in the near future. 

With regard to the gain in fuel economy, brought about by the 
developments which have taken place, it is difficult, owing to the 
varying factors involved, to state this in general terms. Average 
values, however, are given in the table opposite. 

The problem of mechanical stoking, which has been successfully 
solved for the less severe conditions of land practice, still awaits solu- 
tion as regards conditions afloat. Ideal conditions in this respect 
would be more easily reached by the extended use of liquid fuel, the 
advantages of which are obvious. Much progress has been made in 
perfecting apparatus for the proper combustion of oil, and its use 
would very rapidly be extended, but for the sufficient reason that the 
present relative prices of oil and coal are such as to make the use of 
oil for burning in furnaces, except in specially favorable instances, 
out of the question commercially. On the general economic question 
of the oil supply depends also the rate of future progress of the large 
internal combustion engine, the latest development in marine engi- 
neering. 

The application of the internal-combustion engine to marine pro- 
pulsion is no new development, small engines having been constructed 
for this purpose more than 20 years ago. During the last decade, 


however, rapid progress has been made with small engines using the . 


lighter petroleum spirits and oils, and the extent to which the steam 
engine has been superseded in small craft, such as launches and pin- 
naces, is apparent. For this class of work the small weight and bulk 
of the internal-combustion engine and its general convenience are 
such as to make the steam engine almost obsolete. The problem of 
producing a reliable engine of the internal-combustion type of larger 
power, without undue complication of design, and sufficiently low 
in first cost and maintenance to be able to compete successfully with 
the’ steam engine or geared turbine, is a much more difficult one. 
Much experimental work has been done with this end in view, and 
there are many attractive possibilities. 


‘ici 


PROGRESS IN MARINE CONSTRUCTION—GRACIE. 703 


Comparison of fuel consumption and weight of machinery, 1893-1913. 


[For the same effective horsepower. ] 


pelalive Relative 
F spars uel con- ma- 
Year. Class of engine and boilers. sump- | chinery 
tion. weight. 
1. Atlantic passenger ships. 
1893 | Twin-screw triple-expansion engine; cylindrical boilers..................---- 100.0 100.0 
1913 | Four-screw triple-series turbines; cylindrical boilers..............--...------ 90.0 81.0 
1913 | Four-screw triple-series turbines; water-tube boilers......................--- 94.0 60.0 
2. Intermediate liners. | 
1893 | Triple-expansion reciprocating engine; cylindrical boilers...................- 100.0 100.0 
1913 | Quadruple-expansion reciprocating engine; cylindrical boilers... .. eidia sias eae 92.5 91.0 
1913 | Combination, reciprocating and turbine; cylindrical boilers....... id Ne Re | 80.0 94.0 
3. Channel steamers. 
1893 | Twin-screw triple-expansion engine; cylindrical boilers...................... 100.0 100.0 
1913 | Three-screw direct turbines; cylindrical boilers.......................-.----- 87.0 74 2 
1913 | Twin-screw geared turbines; cylindrical boilers....................--.-.-..-- 74.4 82.0 
1913 | Twin-screw geared turbines; water-tube boilers...................--.----.--- 76.0 60.0 
4. Cargo tramp steamers. 
1893 | Single-screw triple-expansion engine; cylindrical boilers...-............-.... 100.0 100.0 
1913 | Single-screw triple-expansion engine; cylindrical boilers with syperh eater. 85. 4 100.0 
1913 | Single-screw geared turbines; cylindrical boilers...................-..---- ea 76.0 84.4 


Comfort on shipboard has vastly improved during the past 20 
years. Spring mattresses and brass bedsteads have replaced the old 
wooden bunks, improved systems of heating and ventilation have 
been introduced, sanitary arrangements are greatly superior both in 
quantity and in quality, while the furnishings of the public 
apartments and the attractions of the dining saloon vie with those of 
the finest hotels on shore. Third-class passengers have now separate 
cabins for four, six, or eight persons each, in place of large open 
‘tween-deck spaces filled with tiers of iron beds and accommodating 
hundreds. In place of benches and tables along the sides of the 
sleeping quarters, separate dining saloons, smoke rooms, and music 
rooms are provided. 

' Antirolling devices have been greatly developed. The use of free- 
water chambers, first suggested by Sir Philip Watts in 1875, and 
adopted in H. M. 8S. Jnflexible and the City of Paris, has been rein- 
troduced on an exact scientific basis by Mr. Frahm, while Mr. Schlick 
in Germany, and Mr. Sperry in America, have successfully applied 
the gyroscope to the reduction of rolling motions. 

Wireless telegraphy, introduced in 1896, is now fitted in over 1,800 
ships and 270 shore stations. By its agency each steamer can keep 
in direct touch with her sisters or with the shore. Already this 
power of communication over long distance has proved of inestimable 
value to vessels in distress by enabling them to summon immediate 
assistance. Wireless telegraphy is probably the greatest boon ever 
given to those in peril at sea. 


704 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


As a preventive means, submarine soundsignaling has proved 
itself to be of immense value, especially where the mariner is sur- 
rounded by his most dangerous enemy, fog. It is well known that 
during fog both light signals and ordinary sound signals become 
very unreliable, whereas the state of the atmosphere has no effect 
upon sounds transmitted through the sea. The first submarine bell 
was installed in 1901, and to-day there are about 140 fixed bell sta- 
tions and over 1,000 vessels fitted with listening apparatus. 

The important questions of freeboard, subdivision, and lifeboat 
accommodation have all received a considerable amount of attention 
in recent years, and special committees have lately been appointed to 
investigate each of these intricate problems, so that nothing that 
human skill can devise may be left undone to secure the safety of 
human life and property intrusted to the vessels of our mercantile 
marine. 

The 1892 bulkhead committee set as its highest standard the ability 
to remain afloat with any two adjacent compartments simultaneously 
flooded. The Campania was one of the first vessels to comply with 
the conditions laid down, and the Scot was also a “ two-compart- 
ment” ship. Since that date not many ships have fully met the 
requirements, which were found in most cases to interfere too much 
with passenger and cargo facilities. The new Empresses on service 
in the Far East and the new Allan Liners have been made into “ four- 
compartment” vessels, and it is more than probable that the new 
bulkhead committee will set a higher standard of safety than its 
predecessor. 

One of the most appalling dangers at sea is that of fire, and in 
recent years many new systems of meeting this emergency have been 
introduced. The now universal replacement of candles and oil- 
illumination by electric light has eliminated one of the most frequent 
causes of conflagration, and should fire occur, systems of piping 
led into every part of the ship can quickly convey water, steam, 
carbonic-acid gas, sulphurous vapor, or the exhaust gases from the 
funnels so as to deprive the flames of the oxygen which is their life. 

In the course of my remarks I have made no reference to failures, 
as these have been but rare among so many notable successes. Never- 
theless much has been learned from failures, as each one, if read 
aright, indicates something to be avoided in future work. The solid 
progress recorded, with but little assistance from that manual labor 
which to-day claims to be the sole producer of wealth, has been the 
inevitable result of the persistent intellectual effort, amounting at 
times to genius, of the many men whose names are as household 
words among us and will live imperishably in the annals of our pro- 
fession. It is impossible to review the history of marine construction 
without being forcibly impressed by the greatness of the debt we owe 


GRACIE. 705 


PROGRESS IN MARINE CONSTRUCTION 


to such men as James Watt, Scott Russell, Brunel, John Elder, Sir 
William Pearce, Sir William White, Dr. Elgar, the Froudes, the late 
Dr. Denny, and many others who have passed away, as well as to 
the Hon. Sir Charles A. Parsons and others who are still fellow 
workers with us. Active and daring minds have ever been questing 
forward, and no opportunity for advance, no probability of new 
development, has been allowed to pass without thorough sifting and 
examination. The needs of the coming years have been anticipated, 
the engineer has ever been in the van and not in the rear of material 
progress. We have seen how the ocean liner has steadily advanced 
in dimensions and speed. The only apparent obstacles to continued 
increase are those connected with finance and with the sizes of docks 
and harbors. In view of past experience, he would be bold indeed 
who would place any limit upon what the future will bring forth. 
[The president, in moving a vote of thanks to the lecturer, re- 
marked that his subject was a national question of vital importance. 
The growth of British oversea trade during the past 10 years had 
been phenomenal, having now reached, according to figures given by 
the First Lord of the Admiralty a few days ago, the enormous sum 
of 355,000,000 sterling per annum. Such figures indicated the great 
importance of the subject with which the lecturer had dealt so 
exhaustively, and he had the greatest pleasure in proposing a hearty 
vote of thanks to Mr. Gracie for his excellent and instructive lecture. 
Sir John Wolfe Barry, K. C. B., past president, said he felt greatly 
honored at being allowed, as the seconder of the resolution, to ask 
the members to accord the vote of thanks which had been moved 
by the president. The record of the last 20 years which had been 
passed in review by the lecturer was one of gradual, sure, and ex- 
traordinary progress in shipbuilding. The “James Forrest” lecture 
for 1913 would be a record for all time of what had taken place 
during that period, and would remain as a landmark, as it were, of 
the progress and goal which had been reached by naval architects. 
For such records as that the members were indebted to their old 
friend, Mr. James Forrest, so long the secretary of the institution, 
who, with a happy inspiration, applied money given to him as a 
testimonial to the founding of lectures of high class; and whatever 
the particular branch of engineering with which a lecturer was in- 
vited to deal might be, the “James Forrest” lecture would, he 
thought, always hold a very high position as a record of what had 
been done in the various branches of engineering of which the insti- 
tution was the representative body. The members of the institution 
were not merely railway builders, or dock makers, or shipbuilders, 
or electricians, for their spheres of work were manifold, and they 
were all joined together in one confraternity. For the happy inspira- 
44863°—sm 1918——45 


706 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


tion to which he had referred the members were indebted to their 
friend James Forrest, and he was sure the heart of many who recol- 
lected his sway would go out to him on the present occasion, when 
they heard the first “ James Forrest” lecture that had been given in 
the theater of the new building. He was old enough to recollect 
some of the fathers of naval architecture, and he could not help 
casting his mind back far beyond the 20 years, which had been the 
purview of the lecture on the present occasion, to the much more 
distant years—the fifties and sixties—when the great pioneers of 
naval architecture were among them. He alluded in particular to 
their vice president, I. K. Brunel, who showed the way to the timid 
naval architects of the period. Although he was a widely educated 
engineer in every branch of his profession, he had a particular love 
for naval architecture, and showed how it was possible to design 
steamships which could make long voyages across the Atlantic when 
such an idea was scoffed at as chimerical. He did not think, on such 
an occasion, the members ought to forget the name of I. K. Brunel, 
the designer, in the first instance, of the Great Western, then of the 
Great Britain, and lastly of that extraordinary ship for her period, 
the Great Eastern, which had a tonnage of something like 17,000 
or 18,000 tons, and was immensely in advance of any kind of naval 
architecture which had then been even dreamt of. He was also 
pleased to be able to recall the memory of his dear old friend, Mr. 
William Froude, who, he thought, rendered to naval architecture 
greater services than any other Englishman who ever lived, intro- 
ducing science and exactitude into a profession which had been up 
to that time more or less empirical. He could not help recollecting 
those things, because, happy as the recollections of the last 20 years 
were, members should certainly not forget those great pioneers who 
showed the way 60 years ago; and he was sure they would all remem- 
ber the luster of Brunel’s achievements and look back with pleasure 
upon the remarkable success he achieved with the Great Fastern. It 
was important to bear in mind that that fine vessel, the Great 
Eastern, embodied almost all the principles which had been laid 
down by the lecture that evening as to strength of hull, watertight- 
ness, protection against accident, and the girder principle. That 
was a great achievement which should never be forgotten whenever 
naval architecture was under consideration at the present time. 
Before sitting down he desired to be allowed to congratulate the 
members on being assembled for the first time in the present theater, 
and occupying their fine building during the first period of its exist- 
ence. In congratulating everybody who was present as member, as- 
sociate member, associate, or student, he could not help also thinking 
of the exertions which had been made by many people to bring about 
that very happy result. The members ought to be very grateful to 


PROGRESS IN MARINE CONSTRUCTION—GRACIE. 707 


the building committee for the care and attention they had given to 
the plan of the building; they ought to thank the architect for all 
he had done; but he did not think they ought to forget the remarka- 
ble exertions which had been made by the secretary, Dr. Tudsbery, 
and his staff, during the four or five very strenuous years in which 
they were leaving the old building, housing themselves temporarily, 
and eventually transferring themselves to the present noble edifice. 
It pleased him immensely to be allowed that evening to say how 
grateful he was to Dr. Tudsbery and his staff, and to all who had 
been associated with the transfer of the institution from one great 
building to another. 

He was sure the members would agree that Mr. Gracie had suc- 
ceeded in laying before the institution a very interesting record of 
what had been done during the last 20 years. The lecturer was 
known as a past master in all that belonged to naval architecture, and 
the members wished to thank him very sincerely and cordially for 
coming among them that evening and delivering the first “ James 
Forrest” lecture in the new building. 

The resolution having been carried by acclamation, 

Mr. Alexander Gracie, in acknowledging the vote of thanks, said 
that the patience with which the members had listened to him, to- 
gether with the compliment that the institution had paid him by 
asking him to deliver the lecture, was more than ample reward for 
anything he had done. | 


CREATING A SUBTERRANEAN RIVER AND SUPPLYING 
A METROPOLIS WITH MOUNTAIN WATER. 


By J. BERNARD WALKER and A. RuSSELL BonD. 


[With i1 plates. ] 
I. CREATING A SUBTERRANEAN RIVER 90 MILES IN LENGTH. 
By J. BERNARD WALKER. 


PHENOMENAL GROWTH OF NEW YORK. 


Greater New York is adding to its population at the rate of 140,000 
people per year—an increase which is absolutely without precedent 
or parallel in the growth of the world’s great cities. Such an in- 
crease as this renders enormously difficult the problems of housing, 
food supply, transportation, and proper hygiene. For many years 
past, and long before the rate of increase had reached its present 
proportions, the city authorities have been at their wits’ end in en- 
deavoring to enlarge the various facilities of the city so as to keep 
pace with the demands of its ever-growing population. 


THE PERIL OF WATER FAMINE. 


With the exception of rapid transit, there is no problem of the 
city’s need which has proved more serious, more pressing or more 
difficult, at least in recent years, than that of providing an adequate 
supply of pure drinking water. At frequent intervals the city has 
been threatened by that justly dreaded terror, a water famine— 
justly dreaded, because a shortage, to say nothing of a total failure, 
of water might mean an outbreak of pestilence, to say nothing of 
the loss and inconvenience occasioned by the shutting down of the 
various factories and smaller industries which a shortage of the 
water supply would necessitate. 

It is not so very many months since the whole city was watching, 
with a very anxious eye, the steady fall of the water levels in the 
various reservoirs of the Croton watersheds; for a season of drought, 
extending far into the winter, had served to bring the hitherto re- 
mote peril close to its very doors. 

In view of the rapid growth of the city, it was evident at the out- 
set that any adequate scheme for increasing the water supply must 
Beart by permission from Scientific American, New York, vol. 108, No. 9, Mar. 1, 

709 


710 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


be made upon the broadest possible scale; and that it should make 
provision, not only for the immediate needs of the city, but for 
those of many a decade to come. This has been done by the board 
of water supply; and it is the purpose of this and the following 
article to show that the project of bringing the Catskill Mountain 
water to New York has been considered on such adequately com- 
prehensive lines that the possibility of any shortage of water in this 
great city has been removed into the very far future. 

On May 14, 1906, the State water supply commission approved 
of the application of the board of water supply of this city for ob- 
taining a daily supply of 500,000,000 gallons of water from the 
Esopus, Rondout, Schoharie, and Catskill Creeks in the Catskill 
Mountains, at an estimated cost of $161,867,000. In 1910 a plan 
for the distribution of the water throughout Manhattan, Queens, 
and the Bronx by a deep-pressure tunnel was approved by the board 
of estimate and apportionment. The additional cost of this scheme 
is $15,000,000. | 

THE NEW SCHEME OF WATER SUPPLY. 


The new supply of water, of the finest mountain quality, is to be 
taken from four watersheds, having a total area of nearly 900 square 
miles. The total estimated capacity of these four gathering grounds 
is, even in a series of unusually dry years, equal to supplying 770,- 
000,000 gallons daily. Reservoirs will be built, as they are required, 
in each of these basins, and they will be connected by aqueducts. For 
the present, the Esopus watershed only is being developed. In a 
series of dry years this watershed can furnish a daily supply of only 
250,000,000 gallons; but the aqueduct leading to the city is being 
built of double that capacity or 500,000,000 gallons daily. The first 
contract for construction was let at the close of 1906. In 1907 to 1908 
about 5 per cent of the work was completed from Ashokan reservoir 
in the Esopus watershed to Croton Lake. By the end of 1909, 22 
per cent was done, 60 per cent at the close of 1910, 78 per cent by 
1911, and at the present time about 95 per cent of the work is done. 
The delivery of water into the Croton Reservoir, which will be pos- 
sible this year, will prevent any possibility of water famine during 
the completion of the new aqueduct to New York. 

The system under construction and now nearing completion con- 
sists of a large reservoir in the Esopus Basin, an underground aque- - 
duct 17 feet in diameter by which the water is led for 64 miles to an- 
other large basin, the Kensico Reservoir, which will serve for emerg- 
ency storage; a third reservoir situated about 15 miles south of Ken- 
sico and just over the New York city line, known as the Hill View 
Reservoir, which will equalize the difference between the use of water 
in the city, which, of course, varies from hour to hour and from day 


SUBTERRANEAN RIVER—-WALKER AND BOND. alk 


to day, and the steady flow coming in from the aqueduct. Between 
Hill View and the city the system consists of a deep circular, high- 
pressure tunnel, through which the water will be led beneath Man- 
hattan, to be distributed by surface mains throughout that city, and 
also throughout the other districts of Greater New York. 


THE ASHOKAN RESERVOIR. 


The great Ashokan Reservoir is situated about 14 miles west of 
Kingston, on the Hudson River. Its cost is $18,000,000, and it will 


e Bi 


GRADE TUNNEL PRESSURE TUNNEL 


hold sufficient water to cover the whole of Manhattan Island to a 
depth of 28 feet. The water is impounded by the Olive Bridge Dam, 
which is built across Esopus Creek, and also by the Beaver Kill and 
the Hurley dikes, which have been built across streams and gaps 
lying between the hills which surround the reservoir. By the 1st of 
January, this year, 73 per cent of this work was done. The dam is 
a masonry structure 190 feet in thickness at the base, and 23 feet 
thick at the top. The surface of the water when the reservoir is 
full is 590 feet above tide level. The total length of the main dam 


712 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


is 4,650 feet, and the maximum depth of the water is 190 feet. The 
area of the water surface is 12.8 square miles, and in preparing the 
bottom it was necessary to remove seven villages, with a total popu- 
lation of 2,000. Forty miles of highway and 10 bridges had to be 
built. In the construction of the dam and dikes it was necessary to 
excavate nearly 3,000,000 cubic yards of material, and 8,000,000 
cubic yards of embankment and nearly 1,000,000 cubic yards of ma- 
sonry had to be put in place. The maximum number of men em- 
ployed on the job was 3,000. 


THE 92-MILE AQUEDUCT. 


The water is conducted from Ashokan Reservoir as a huge under- 
ground artificial river. The aqueduct is 92 miles in length from 
Ashokan to the northern city line, and it should be explained that 
it is built on a gentle grade, and that the water flows through this 
at a slow and fairly constant speed. The aqueduct contains four dis- 
tinct types: The cut-and-cover, the grade tunnel, the pressure tunnel, 
and the steel-pipe syphon. The cut-and-cover type, which is used on 
55 miles of the aqueduct, is of a horseshoe shape and measures 17 feet 
high by 17 feet 6 inches wide, inside measurements. It is built of 
concrete, and on completion it is covered in with an earth embank- 
ment. This type is used wherever the nature of the ground and the 
elevation allow. Where the aqueduct intersects hills or mountains 
it is driven through them in tunnel at the standard grade. There are 
24. of these tunnels, aggregating 14 miles in length. They are horse- 
shoe in shape, 17 feet high by 13 feet 4 inches wide, and they are 
lined with concrete. When the line of the aqueduct encountered 
deep and broad valleys, they were crossed by two methods: If suit- 
able rock were present, circular tunnels were driven deep within this 
rock and lined with concrete. There are 7 of these pressure tunnels 
of a total length of 17 miles. Their internal diameter is 14 feet, and 
at each end of each tunnel a vertical shaft connects the tunnel with 
the grade tunnel above. If the bottom of the valley did not offer 
suitable rock for a rock tunnel, or if there were other prohibitive 
reasons, steel siphons were used. These are 9 feet and 11 feet in 
diameter. They are lined with 2 inches of cement mortar and are 
imbedded in concrete and covered with anearth embankment. There 
are 14 of these pipe siphons in a total length of 6 miles. At present 
one pipe suffices to carry the water. Ultimately three will be re- 
quired for each siphon. 

Of the many siphons constructed, by far the most interesting and 
difficult is that which has been completed beneath the Hudson River. 
The preliminary borings made from scows in the river showed that 
great depths would have to be reached before rock sufficiently solid 
and free from seams was encountered to withstand the enormous 
hydraulic pressure of the water in the tunnel. After failing to 


ee ee 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Walker and Bond. PLATE 1. 


OLIVE BRIDGE DAM. ESopuS CREEK FLOWING THROUGH TEMPORARY TUNNEL. 


BUILDING OLIVE BRIDGE DAM TO FORM THE ASHOKAN RESERVOIR. 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Walker and Bond. 


PLATE 2. 


IN THE HUDSON RIVER SIPHON, 1,100 FEET BELOW THE RIVER. 


SUBTERRANEAN RIVER—WALKER AND BOND. ite 


reach rock by the scow drills, two series of inclined borings were 
made from each shore, one pair intercepting at about 900 feet depth 
and the other at about 1,500 feet. Both showed satisfactory rock; 
and accordingly a shaft was sunk on each shore to a depth of ap- 
proximately 1,100 feet, and then a horizontal tunnel was driven con- 
necting the two. It is of interest to note that because of the enor- 
mous head, which must be measured from the flow line far above 
the river surface, the pressure in the horizontal tunnel reaches over 
40 tons per square foot. 


E/ZO0f above flow line 
Ei of flow'line 


—_—= —=- ow or 
Sams 0 AYES 
~~ ee 


= ee 


WIITIRTIRG, — 

i Tp ge coe Sa ey 

oy ‘4 ead grubbed ; 
a Nb TCMOUE ) 

Ties Cut-off, if required— ‘.- “Concrete masonry core wall 


TYPICAL SECTION OF DIKE 


‘eWidth 1c S--4 On steep hilside _---7" 


olf U/ Zs 
(ng == Seo Earth= ( -- 
a OP = refill 
“2 Sa 


OLIVE BRIDGE DAM dotted. 
MAXIMUM MASONRY SECTION STEEL PIPE SIPHON 


KENSICO RESERVOIR. 


Next to Ashokan the most important basin is the Kensico reservoir, 
which lies east of the Hudson, and is situated 30 miles north of the 
city hall. It will hold sufficient of the Catskill water to supply the 
city for several months. Its purpose is to act as an emergency 
storage reservoir, so that if it is necessary, on account of accident, 
to interrupt the flow in the 77 miles of aqueduct between Kensico 
and Ashokan, this can be done without interrupting the city supply. 
The cost of this work is $8,500,000. 

The reservoir will be formed by a huge masonry dam across the 
valley of the Bronx River. The surface of the water will be at an 


RT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


ANNUAL REPO 


714 


*LOOdUNOV AHL GNV SGHHSHUALVM NOLOUD ANV TIMISLV)D ONLMOHS dV. 


LONAGENOV GNV SGAHSHALVM TIDISLVO 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Walker and Bond. PLATE 3. 


PLACING THE 93 Foot STEEL PIPES—FOUNDRY BROOK SIPHON. 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Walker and Bond. PLATE 4. 


DRIVEWAY ALONG CREST OF OLIVE BRIDGE DAM. 


This will form part of a system of new highways. 


ASHOKAN RESERVOIR—UPPER GATE CHAMBER. 


Through this chamber the flow of water to the aqueduct will be regulated. 


SUBTERRANEAN RIVER—-WALKER AND BOND. 715 


elevation of 855 feet above mean sea level, and will cover 2,218 acres. 
It will contain, when full, about 40,000,000,000 gallons, of which 
29,000,000,000 gallons, or 60 days’ continuous supply at 500,000,000 
gallons daily, will be available. The main dam will be 1,848 feet 
long; the total height will be 300 feet; it will be 230 feet thick at 
the base, and 28 feet thick at the top. The average depth of the 
reservoir will be 100 feet, and its maximum depth at the wall of 
the dam will be 155 feet. An interesting feature of the construc- 
lion is that the entire dam will be divided into sections by transverse 
expansion joints, which will be placed about 80 feet apart longitudi- 
nally. On one side they will be faced with concrete blocks, forming 
a series of vertical tongues and grooves, against which the masonry 
of the other side will be built. Near the up-stream face will be a 
. copper strip, which will cover the expansion joints and act as a water 
stop, the strips continuing from the bottom to the top of the dam. 
In order to catch any water that may seep through from the up- 
stream side, diagonal wells will be built 15 feet apart, measured 
longitudinally. They will be formed of porous concrete blocks. 
They will reach from the top of the dam to a longitudinal inspec- 
tion gallery at about the level of the reservoir bottom, which will in 
its turn be connected with a transverse drainage gallery, which will 
lead to the downstream base of the dam. This will entirely prevent 
any seepage through the wall, and will avoid that discoloration 
which is liable to mar the architectural beauty of structures of this 
kind. 
AERATION AND FILTRATION. 

At both the Ashokan and Kensico reservoirs aerators will be 
- built, each of which will be capable of passing and treating all the 
water which will flow in the aqueduct. The aerator is a large 
rectangular basin, 500 feet by 250 feet, containing about 1,800 noz- 
zles, through which jets of water will be thrown into the air. The 
nozzles will be of such form that the water will be divided into a 
fine spray, and this will permit of a thorough admixture with the 
oxygen of the air and the removal of gases and matters which would 
cause taste and odors. For the present no provision will be made for 
filtrating the Catskill water, but provision has been made for a 
filtration plant by the purchase of 350 acres of land near Tarrytown, 
adjacent to the aqueduct. 


HILL VIEW RESERVOIR. 


From Kensico the water will flow to the Hill View reservoir, which 
will serve to equalize the difference between the amount of water 
used in the city and the amount of water flowing in the aqueduct. 
Also it will furnish a great quantity of water should there be an 


716 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


immediate demand, such as occurs during a great conflagration. 
Its capacity will be 900,000,000 gallons. The reservoir is divided 
into two basins, so that one may be used while the other is being 
inspected for repairs. The aqueduct is carried within the wall which 
divides the two basins, and the aqueduct water can be passed through 
the reservoir and delivered directly into the city tunnel. 

Our thanks are due to Mr. Alfred D. Flinn, department engineer 
of the board of water supply, for courtesies extended during the 
preparation of this article. 


II. SUPPLYING A METROPOLIS WITH MOUNTAIN WATER. 
By A. RUSSELL Bonn. 


HOW MINING OPERATIONS ARE BEING CARRIED ON THROUGH THE HEART 
OF NEW YORK. 


The preceding pages tell how the new aqueduct is being constructed 
from the Catskill Mountains down to the New York City line, where, 
at the Hill View Reservoir, the waters will pause before taking their 
plunge into the heart of the city. 

The problem of admitting so large a flood into the metropolis is 
no small one, particularly when the chief demand for the water will 
come from those sections of Greater New York which lie many miles 
away. For the present, at least, little if any of the Catskill water 
will be used in Manhattan and The Bronx, but most of it will be 
consumed by the boroughs of Brooklyn, Queens, and Richmond, The 
water-waste campaign which has been carried on for the past few 
years has so far reduced the consumption of water that the Croton 
system, which can furnish steadily 350,000,000 gallons of water per 
day, can easily take care of the immediate wants of Manhattan und 
The Bronx as well as the demand from these two boroughs for many 
years to come. It is not likely that the population in Manhattan will 
increase much, unless it undergoes a marked vertical growth, for now 
there are practically no more vacant lots to be built upon. So that 
in estimating the future demands upon the Croton system, we must 
consider chiefly the growth of population in The Bronx. In the 
other three boroughs of the city, however, there is a present demand 
for water, and the probability of large increases in population in 
coming years. 

To conduct the Catskill water into Brooklyn and Queens, it was 
decided to build a trunk line so far beneath the surface that there 
would always be 150 feet of good, solid rock for the roof of the 
tunnel, and provide a course for a subterranean river which could be 
tapped as needed for the city’s supply, and which at the same time 
would be so completely buried that it would never menace the safety 


eee 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Walker and Bond. PLATE 5. 


CONSTRUCTING A STEEL AND CONCRETE SECTION OF AQUEDUCT. 


This section consists of a steel pipe, lined internally with 2 inches of cement mortar, and em- 
bedded in reinforced concrete. 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Walker and Bond. PLATE 


DYNAMITE CHAMBER. 


Note the roof over the shelves. 


MAGAZINE Door, WHICH CLOSES AUTOMATICALLY IN CASE OF EXPLOSION. 


SUBTERRANEAN RIVER—-WALKER AND BOND. HAG 


of structures above it. When the tunnel is completed, it will be one 
of the most durable pieces of work ever constructed by man; for 
practically nothing but an earthquake can destroy it, and even this 
possibility is very remote, for the rock underlying New York is of 
very early formation, and not at all lable to seismic disturbance. 
And so the city tunnel of the Catskill aqueduct is being bored 
through the rock on an average of 200 to 250 feet below the surface, 
except in places where the nature of the rock is of such a character 
as to call for a much greater depth. 

The first dip takes place just above the Harlem River, where the 
tunnel drops down to 362 feet below the ground level. Then it runs 
practically horizontally until it passes the dip in the rock under One 
hundred and twenty-fifth street. Thence it rises again, and main- 
tains a practically constant level of 200 feet under the city until it 
arrives at the ancient bed of the East River. A glance at the map 
of New York City will show that the East River makes a decided 
turn about the lower east side or “heel” of Manhattan. In pre- 
glacial times the East River had no elbow in its course, but ran 
directly across the heel of Manhattan, and it wore away the rock in 
its bed to considerable depths. However, the large deposits of earth 
and rock carried by the glaciers caused the river to be pushed east- 
ward, out of its normal channel and over the solid rock beyond. 
When borings were made for the aqueduct through this section of 
the city, it was found necessary to lay it at a depth of about 750 feet 
below the surface. As indicated in the drawing on page 721, much 
of the rock through this section is decayed and unfit to form the 
walls of a high-pressure aqueduct which is being built to last for all 
time. The present channel of the East River, on the other hand, 
passes over solid rock, and is comparatively shallow. Seven hundred 
and fifty feet is an enormous depth, second only to the great siphon 
under the Hudson River, which is 1,114 feet below the river surface. 
It so happens that the deepest shaft ever sunk in New York City 
equals the height of the tallest building in the world. To illustrate 
this enormous depth, our artist has taken the liberty of building the 
Woolworth Building topsy-turvy—that is, from the ground down— 
at the Clinton Street shaft at the west bank of the Kast River. Enor- 
mous as is the building, yet it barely reaches the aqueduct at this 
point, Evidently there will be plenty of cellar room over the tunnel; 
and yet it is worth noting, the aqueduct follows the street lines so 
as not to trespass on private property. 

Arrived in Brooklyn, the aqueduct rises again to within two or 
three hundred feet of the surface and is pushed as far as it is possible 
to carry it in solid rock and yet communicate with the surface. This 
limit was found to be at the junction of Flatbush and Third Avenues. 


718 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


Here it was necessary to go through 215 feet of overlying earth 
before coming to the rock. The caisson method had to be resorted 
to, and the caisson was sunk over 100 feet below the water line before 
rock was reached. Considerable difficulty was here experienced in 
sinking the shaft to the rock, because it called for the use of pneu- 
matic pressure that taxed the endurance of the workmen to the limit. 
From here on the water will be conducted through pipes laid in a 
trench of a moderate depth below the surface. From the foot of 
Seventy-ninth Street, Bay Ridge, the conduit will be run across the 
Narrows to Staten Island, through a pipe 36 inches in diameter, pro- 
vided with flexible joints, and laid in a submarine trench. The 
details of this section of the work have not yet been given out. How- 
ever, tests have been made to discover at what depth the pipe line 
under the water must be buried. It is evident that it must lie far 
enough below ground to prevent its being entangled with anchors 
from large vessels that may have to anchor in the Narrows. The 
matter has been thoroughly investigated, and practical tests have 
been made by dragging anchors of large size along the bottom. It 
has been determined that if the pipe line is buried at least 8 feet 
under the bed, it will be entirely safe. On the Staten Island side a 
48-inch pipe will carry the water on up the hill and through a tunnél 
into Silver Lake Reservoir, 120 miles from the source in the Catskills. 

The greatest interest in this city section of the aqueduct attaches 
naturally to that part which is being excavated through solid rock 
under the busy city. It is a surprising fact that a work of such 
magnitude can be carried on directly under our feet without incon- 
veniencing us in the least. The only surface evidence of the deep 
rock tunneling is to be found at the various shafts which are located 
in parks or public squares. The principal difficulty that presented 
itself at first was the question of storing explosives for a work of 
such great proportions. To keep the necessary explosives on the sur- 
face was to harbor constant menaces to the lives of the citizens. The 
matter was finally solved by placing the dynamite magazines far 
under the surface in the rock, and setting the doors to these maga- . 
zines so they will automatically close in case of an explosion and trap 
the hot and poisonous fumes in the rock chamber, where they can do 
no harm to the workmen. The idea was borrowed from European 
practice, where mining operations are conducted close to and some- 
times directly under large cities. Access to the dynamite chamber 
is had through a zigzag drift. At each turn of the drift a pocket is 
excavated, and the chamber itself is made of large capacity. In this 
chamber the dynamite is stored under a protecting roof to keep off 
any fragments of rocks that might fall when jarred by the “shoot- 
ing” in the tunnel. At the entrance of the drift a very substantial 
concrete bulkhead is built, and in this is a low doorway. The door is 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Walker and Bond. PLATE 7. 


“HOLED THROUGH” FROM SHAFT 16 TO SHAFT 17. DANGEROUS ROCK OVERHEAD DUE 
TO VERTICAL SEAMS. 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Walker and Bond. 


LOOKING DOWN THE 441-FooT SHAFT AT REINFORCEMENT FOR THE CAISSON AT FLAT- 
ONE HUNDREDAND FoRTY-NINTH STREET. BUSH AND THIRD AVENUES. 


PERMANENT CHANNEL IRON SUPPORT FOR A TREACHEROUS ROOF. THE BEAMS WILL 
BE IMBEDDED IN THE CONCRETE LINING. 


SUBTERRANEAN RIVER—WALKER AND BOND. 719 


of massive construction, built of I-beams, 16 inches deep and spaced 
apart with oak beams 12 inches square. The door has beveled edges, 
so that it will seat itself snugly in the doorway. The door is always 
kept open at an angle of about 45°. In the magazine a thousand 
pounds of dynamite may be kept at a time. Should this be exploded, 
the explosion wave would have to travel down the zigzag passage and 
would lose much of its force at each abrupt turn, finally striking the 
door with greatly diminished energy. The door would be slammed 
shut by the blast of air issuing from the drift and would then be held 
shut by the gases of the exploded dynamite. A magazine of this 
sort has been constructed near the foot of each shaft—not aé the foot, 
however, for fear that in case of a mishap, it might block the escape 
of the men. The magazines have been tested by exploding a number 
of sticks of dynamite around the first bend in the drift, and in every 
case the door has closed just as expected. 

The work through the rock is being pushed very rapidly; at some 
of the shafts between 800 and 1,000 pounds of dynamite have been 
used daily. Within the last year millions of pounds of dynamite 
have been exploded under the city, while most of New York was 
totally oblivious to the fact. Already a number of the tunnel sec- 
tions have been “holed” through. To expedite the work, one con- 
tractor is using an interesting form of shoveling machine, built 
especially for this work, so that it may be taken down the compara- 
tively narrow shaft and be assembled to work within the small 
diameter of 11 feet, which is the size of the tunnel at the particular 
point where this machine is now being used. A photograph of this 
machine is shown herewith, and also a drawing illustrating the mech- 
anism (pl. 10). The machine is controlled by a single operator and 
does the work of six laborers. It is provided with a double shovel A and 
B. The section A digs up the rock and throws it upon the scoop B, 
which in turn empties its load upon a traveling chain conveyor C; 
the latter delivers the load into muck cars at the back of the shovel- 
ing machine. The letters B, Bt, B?, and B? show the successive po- 
sitions of the scoop. The forward section A is carried upon a crank 
shaft D, which is revolved through the are indicated by the arrow. 
Another arrow line shows the course of the front edge of the section 
A. The forward end of the scoop B rests upon the heel of the sec- 
tion A, while its rear end is mounted upon a shaft Z’, which travels 
ina guideway #. The forward section A is connected to the shaft Z 
by means of side plates, indicated by dotted lines, so that as the 
crank shaft D revolves, the slide shaft /#' is obliged to run up the 
ways /’, as indicated by the letters £1, £2, and H*%. The section B 
is equipped with a small arm G, which carries a roller that is adapted 
to engage the cam groove H, causing the scoop B to turn over as 
indicated in the dotted view B*, and empty its load upon the travel- 


720 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


ing conveyor. The machine is mounted on a turntable so that it may 
be turned about in any direction. 

Some of the work on the city pressure tunnel has been hurried so 
far that certain sections are now being lined with concrete. The 
forms used for this purpose are very interesting. Our illustra- 
tion, plate 11, shows their construction. They cover 120 feet alto- 
gether and are arranged in two sections, 60 feet of the lower half 
of the tunnel being concreted in advance of 60 feet of the upper 
part. The first step is to lay the “invert;” that is, a narrow seg- 
ment of the lining running along the bottom of the tunnel. This, 
when completed, forms the track upon which the forms for the rest 
of the lining travel. The forms are mounted on trucks with wheels 
tapered to fit the curve of the invert. The forms for the lower half 
cylinder are practically the same as those for the upper half cylin- 
der. After the lining has set, the sides of the upper form may be 
drawn in to free them from the concrete by operating the turn- 
buckles A, and those of the lower forms by operating the turn- 
buckles B. Then jacks may be unscrewed to lower the upper section 
slightly, freeing it completely from the concrete, and jacks # may 
be screwed up to raise the bottom section slightly upon the truck. 
In this collapsed condition the forms may be drawn forward to 
complete the next section of tunnel. The detail view in the drawing 
(pl. 10, fig. 2) shows how the lower forms are supported on the 
trucks. To the longitudinal beams C, vertical guides D are bolted, 
which fit against the framework of the truck. The jacks # mounted 
on the truck bear against cross pieces running from C’ to C. The 
filling of the lower half of the forms is comparatively simple. It is 
quite a different task, however, to lay the concrete into the upper 
form. Sections of the plating of the upper forms are removed and 
the concrete is shoveled in, adding the plates step by step as neces- 
sary, until finally the topmost plate is added, when the concrete can 
be introduced only from the end of the form. It will be observed 
that small pieces of board are temporarily nailed against the edge 
of the forms and fitted up as neatly as possible against the rock 
above, so as to retain the concrete until it sets. As each section is 
completed, grouting holes are left in the top through which, when 
the lining is completed otherwise, grout will be forced under high 
pressure to fill up all cracks and crevices and make the lining per- 
fectly sound. 

At each shaft access will be had to the tunnel through risers or 
vertical pipes, 48 or 72 inches in diameter. At most of the shafts two 
such pipes will be provided, each fitted with valves at the bottom, 
which may be operated from the surface to close either of them when 
it is desired to gain access to them or to effect any necessary repairs. 
The valves at the bottom of the risers will be of such a design as to 


<li aaa 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Walker and Bond. 


HLYOM 


70 


OM 


HEIGHT OF WOOLWORTH BUILDING EQUALS DEPTH OF 


DEEPEST AQUEDUCT SHAFT IN NEW YORK. 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Walker and Bond. 


PLATE 10. 


FIG. 1.—SHOVELING MACHINE FOR REMOVING THE BROKEN ROCK AND LOADING IT INTO CARS. 


Fia. 2.—TRUCK FOR CARRYING STEEL FORMS FOR CONCRETE LINING. 


Smithsonian Report, 1913.—Walker and Bond. PLATE 11. 


STEEL FORMS USED IN LINING THE AQUEDUCT WITH CONCRETE. 


SUBTERRANEAN RIVER—-WALKER AND BOND. 


close automatically in case of an abnormal flow through the risers, 


721 


due to the destruction of the valve at the top by explosion or other 


accident. At the top of the risers there 
will be two valves, the one nearer the 
riser being an emergency valve, which 
may be closed in case of any damage to 
the other valve. 

It is probable that no immediate 
changes will be made in the water supply 
of Manhattan and Bronx, except that 
pipe lines will be run from the shafts to 
help out the existing supply in case of 
emergency. In Brooklyn and Queens, 
where 35 pumping stations are now re- 
quired, most of the stations will be dis- 
continued for the reason that the water 
will be delivered through the aqueduct at 
sufficient pressure to reach practically all 
parts. Only in one or two sections will 
pumping be necessary. 

From Hill View Reservoir the water 
will flow through a tunnel 15 feet in 
diameter. This will be narrowed to 14, 
13, 12, and 11 feet, which is the diameter 
of the rock tunnel at Fort Greene Park, 
Brooklyn, and at the intersection of Flat- 
bush and Third Avenues. From there on 
steel pipes, 54 feet in diameter and run- 
ning down to 4 feet in diameter, will 
carry the water to the Narrows, and 
under New York Bay, at the Narrows, 
the line will be only 3 feet in diameter. 
This gradual shrinking of the aqueduct 
reminds one of those large rivers that 
flow out of the mountains in sufficient 
volume to be navigable and even a menace 
to the surrounding country in time of 
flood, but which, when they reach the 
deserts, are drunk up by the thirsty sands 
and sucked by the torrid sun until they 
vanish without any clearly defined ter- 
minus or possibly flow in a sickly stream 
to a small stagnant lagoon. Thus, when 
the entire Catskill system is completed 


44863°—sm 1913—46 


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Section along the city pressure.tunnel, showmg how it has to dip down onder the pre-glacial bed of the Hast River. 


722 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


and operating at its full capacity, the waters which three days before 
poured out of the Ashokan Reservoir in a mighty flood, over 17 feet 
in diameter, will reach Staten Island a stream only 3 per cent of its 
former size, after having been robbed by the rest of the thirsty city. 


THE APPLICATION OF THE PHYSIOLOGY OF COLOR 
VISION IN MODERN ART. 


By Henry G. KELLER, 
Cleveland School of Art, 
and 
Prof J. J. R. MACLEOD, 
Western Reserve Medical School. 


Leonardo in his treatise on painting says: 

Those who become enamored of the practice of the art without having previ- 
ously applied themselves to the diligent study of the scientific part of it, may be 
compared to mariners who put to sea in a ship without rudder or compass, and, 
therefore, can not be certain of arriving at the wished-for port. Practice must 
always be founded on good theory. 

Instead of serving as an incentive to more extensive study of the 
use of colors in art, these words seem to have marked the advent of 
an epoch extending over several centuries, during which colors came 
to be less and less successfully employed. The ideals of art came to 
be dictated by the academic painter and they were much more 
mythological and allegorical than founded on the beauty of color 
patterns. Much of art became black painting, little attempt being 
made to use pure colors and no consideration being given to the 
effects which could be produced by the influence of juxtaposed colors 
on one another. With the exception of some masters the ideal of 
artists was merely to reproduce as closely as possible the color tones 
and values as seen in nature—to produce a colored photograph with- 
out adding to it that mysterious something for which is responsible 
the peculiar charm and strength of the paintings of the early Italian 
masters and of the Chinese and Japanese, and which includes some 
subtile influence of the picture itself quite apart from what it repre- 
sents; something that endows it with a charm that is all its own, and 
which no colored photograph can ever contain. 

It is true that from time to time in the history of modern art 
masters have arisen who have, intuitively as it were, produced pic- 
tures the color schemes of which have contained this “something.” 
But it is the individual rather than the system that has been responsi- 

“ble, and no attempts have been made until comparatively recently 


1 Reprinted by permission from the Popular Science Monthly, November, 1913. 
723 


724 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


to evolve new principles for the use of colors which would serve as 
a guide to all; nor, indeed, was such an evolution possible until some 
progress had been made in the scientific interpretation of color. 
This progress is itself only of comparatively recent date. 

At the present day there is an unrest in the world of art, an unrest 
which has resulted in the creation of innumerable schools, each en- 
deavoring by some peculiar method of its own to inculcate new prin- 
ciples and to establish new ideals. Within a short period of time 
realism has given place to impressionism, Impressionism to post- 
impressionism, and this again has become parent for so many other 
“isms” that to follow them has become almost impossible. How- 
ever unpictorial from our ordinary viewpoint the creations of some 
present-day artists may appear to be, there is nevertheless in many of 
them some newly discovered truth; they are the steps in an evolution, 
and we may hope that some day the evolution will be consummated 
and that from out of the apparent chaos which at present exists a 
really compelling picture will be created. 

It is most of all in landscape painting that the evolution of modern 
art can be seen. The old landscapes of Claude Lorrain and Constable 
are no doubt full of charm, but they entirely lack the atmosphere and 
force of the so-called impressionist paintings of Monet, Sisley, Pis- 
saro, etc. In the older landscapes an attempt was made to copy 
everything that could be seen by prolonged study, and the canvas was 
covered with detail to its very edges; in impressionism it is merely the 
flash, the fleeting effect of the landscape which it is attempted to re- 
produce. There may indeed be considerable detail in certain portions 
of the picture, but the greater part is merely a color pattern. But 
after all such an impressionistic picture can occupy our attention for 
a moment only. We do indeed receive an impression more or less like 
that which the artist received on viewing his object, but closer study 
of the picture does not carry us further; there is something absent 
from it with which nature abounds, something that compels us, as 
when viewing a landscape, to keep shifting our gaze from point to 
point, a restlessness, a constant source of interest and fascination. 
Tn post-impressionism the attempt is being made to supply this want, 
to compel us namely to regard more than the fleeting impression. 
The closer we study such a picture, if it be successful, the more comes 
out of it, colors by their influence on one another become changed in 
hue and saturation, a curiosity develops and, subconsciously, we are 
compelled to continue our study, with the result that we get ever other 
and other effects. It is kinetic, not static, art; it is a pattern of 
nature designed to create visuopsychic impressions expressing an idea 
rather than an object, subjective rather than objective. 

There is a physiological reason for this visual restlessness and 
before we go into the science of colors it may be well to explain what 


PHYSIOLOGY OF COLOR VISION——-KELLER AND MACLEOD. 120 


this reason is. The innermost layer of the eye, onto which images of 
exterior objects are focused, is specialized to react to sensation of 
light, thus setting up nerve impulses which are transmitted to the 
brain where they are interpreted. This layer of the eye is called the 
retina, and it is very much more sensitive at a small spot in the 
center than it is over the much larger outer (peripheral) portions; 
so that, of the image which is focused on it, it is only that part fall- 
ing on the central portion which is distinctly seen. When we regard 
a stretch of country, for example, it is only in one part of it that the 
objects are seen in any detail—namely, that part which is focused on 
the central portion of the retina—the remainder, since it falls on the 
outer portion, causing only a vague, indefinite impression. We may 
say, indeed, that the function of the greater part of the retina is 
merely to give usa general impression of the environment of the object 
which is being looked at, an impression, that is to say, which will 
enable us to judge of its relationship to other things. It tells what 
else there is to look at, and subconsciously we shift our gaze so that, 
piece by piece, the whole landscape comes to be focused on the central 
portion. We regard with the central portion what we know exists 
to be regarded on account of the duller image thrown on the rest of 
the retina. 

Coming now to the question of color, any attempt to apply the 
scientific principles of color vision in making a picture must surely 
fail if it be not granted at the outset that it is only to a limited de- 
gree that those principles can apply. Color appreciation is as much 
a psychical as a physiological process, and, indeed, it is psychical 
not only with regard to the objective impression itself, but also with 
regard to the subjective, the associational mental process. Previous 
knowledge and training, experience, tradition, the association of 
color impressions with impressions previously received through 
other senses and stored away as memories, all play a part in deter- 
mining the effect which a color or a pattern of apposed colors has 
upon us. But even granting all this, there are many of the physio- 
logical laws of color vision which must be adhered to before we can 
expect to produce these effects. 

In attempting to show how these laws may be employed in art it 
will be necessary for us to explain briefly some of the physical and 
physiological observations upon which they depend. The first of 
these is a physical one—it is the dissociation of white light into the 
spectral colors by means of a prism, or better, by means of a diffrac- 
tion grating. The spectral colors are red, orange, yellow, green, 


1Jn the light decomposed by a prism some hues, such as those of red and yellow, occupy 
much less space than others, such as blue, although they do not correspondingly differ in 
wave length. When light is decomposed by a diffraction grating (a glass plate ruled with 
very fine equidistant lines) the spaces occupied by the various hues are proportional to 
their differences in wave lengths. 


726 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


blue (indigo), and violet, the various shades of purple being entirely 
absent. When we look at such a spectrum we are at once struck with 
the fact that the colors differ from one another not only in their 
hue, but in their brightness or luminosity, the yellow and the immedi- 
ately adjacent portions being much brighter than the others. At 
once, then, we recognize two physiological properties for each spec- 
tral color—hue and brightness. There is, however, another prop- 
erty of colors as seen in nature which is absent in the spectrum, 
namely, saturation, This refers to the degree of white light with 
which the color is mixed. It is more or less related to the artist’s 
“ value,” which expresses the translation of the colors into gray. 

The most characteristic of these properties of colors is their hue, 
and for the present we shall confine our atttention to this. To under- 
stand what the hue is due to we must remember that rays of light 
exist in space as vibrations of the surrounding ether and that these 
vibrations occur at right angles to the line of propagation of the 
light rays. The rate of the vibration varies according to the hue. 
In other words, the ight rays are made up of waves which are small 
and close together when the vibration is rapid, as at the violet end 
of the spectrum, and are large and wide apart when the vibration is 
slow, as at the red end. When these waves strike the retina they 
create impressions which differ from one another, according to the 
wave lengths, These differences we interpret as differences in hue. 
When the rays of the various spectral hues are reunited before strik- 
ing the retina the sensation which is created is that of white. This 
recombination or synthesis of the spectral hues may in general be 
brought about in two ways: (1) By causing them to fuse together 
by means of some suitable optical device (such as a second prism or 
reflecting mirrors) before they enter the eye; (2) by causing them 
to become superimposed upon one another on the retina in rapid 
succession, in which case the impression created by each color lasts 
for a sufficient length of time so that it becomes fused with those 
which succeed it. This result depends on the phenomenon of posi- 
tive after images, which can be demonstrated by momentarily re- 
garding some brightly illuminated object and then closing the eyes, 
when the image continues to be seen for some time. Rapidly suc- 
ceeding images, therefore, become fused into one composite impres- 
sion. 

This retinal synthesis, as we may call it, is well illustrated in the 
impression produced by observing the spokes of a rapidly revolving 
wheel. For experimental purposes it is brought about by using 
Maxwell’s machine, which consists of circular cards painted in 
sectors with the various colors and which are caused to revolve 
around their centers by means of a motor. A spinning top may also 
be used for this purpose. By revolving a card painted with the 


PHYSIOLOGY OF COLOR VISION—-KELLER AND MACLEOD. 727 


seven spectral colors a sensation approaching that of white is pro- 
duced ;! by choosing various proportions of the spectral colors this 
white becomes tinted with all possible intermediate hues. 

From these facts we might imagine that the retina contains a 
special kind of sensory component for each of the seven spectral 
hues, that equal stimulation of all produces the sensation of white, 
and that varying degrees of stimulation of certain of them, that of 
the hues which are intermediate between those of the spectrum. 

Such an hypothesis could not, however, be of much practical value 
in explaining the color phenomena with which we have to deal in 
daily life. It had to be simplified. This was done by Thomas 
Young and Helmholtz, who discovered that three of the spectral 
hues, such as red, green, and violet, or certain other triads, are sufli- 
cient, when mixed on the retina, to produce the same sensations as 
those which are produced by the seven spectral hues. These are 
known as primary colors; when equal quantities of each are used a 
sensation of white (or gray) results; when only red and green, the 
sensation is yellow; 
when green and vio- 
let, it is blue; and 
when violet and red, 
itis purple. Not only 
this, but the various 
intermediate hues can 
readily be obtained by 


aheringthe) prepor- RC STs ta ptt acer sacte Vv 
tions of the a. Fig. 1.—COLOR TRIANGLE. 


thus to produce 
orange, a disk containing a larger proportion of red and a smaller 
proportion of green is used, and so on. 

To represent these fundamental facts and hold them in mind the 
so-called color triangle has been constructed (fig. 1). At the angles 
of this triangle are placed the primary hues, the other spectral hues 
being distributed along its two sides at distances which are propor- 
tional to their wave lengths and the purples along its base, which, 
since these hues are absent from the spectrum, is represented by a 
broken line. 

But white light can be produced in still another way, namely, by 
retinal synthesis of certain pairs of hues which on this account are 
called complementary. Thus red and greenish-blue, yellow and blue, 
orange and blue-violet are complementary. We may express this all- 
important fact by stating that for every spectral hue there is another 
which when mixed with it on the retina in approximately equal quan- 


1It would be pure white were it possible to obtain artificial pigments that reflected none 
other than their own characteristic hwes. 


728 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


tities produces the sensation of white. When other than equal pro- 
portions of complementary hues are chosen, colors are produced 
which are of hues intermediate between those of the complementaries 
and which are mixed with varying degrees of white. They are in- 
completely saturated colors. These facts may be satisfactorily rep- 
resented by finding a point, called W, inside the color triangle, so 
that any straight line passing through it will on striking the sides 
of the triangle join two hues which produce white. This method of 
finding the complementaries necessarily implies that they must be 
separated from one another by a considerable distance on the spec- 
trum. For representing these facts a circle instead of a triangle may 
be employed, and for practical purposes, in the use of colors in paint- 
ing, such a circle has been found more useful than the triangle. 
Before we proceed to explain its use, however, it may be well to 
indicate some of the applications which can be made in art of the 
facts we have already learned. | 

It is in pointilism that this application is most evident. In this 
method the pigments are laid down in minute areas or spots or lines 
so that when the picture is viewed from a certain distance, the dif- 
ferent hues act on the same nerve endings of the retina and there- 
fore produce the same effect as if they had been superimposed, as by 
the use of Maxwell’s disks. Thus, if a white surface be dotted over 
with red, green, and violet, or any other primary colors, or with red 
and greenish-blue, or any other complementary colors, the surface at 
a certain distance will appear grayish white. If, in any of the com- 
binations, one hue be in preponderance of the others the gray will 
become correspondingly tinted, so that a complete picture may be 
built up of areas which on close inspection are a mosaic of pure 
colors, but appear at a distance as tinted grays. 

The impressionists, Monet, Segantini, etc., appear to have laid as 
the basis of their picture a gray at the brightness (or value) which 
they desired each portion of it to assume. On these surfaces they then 
applied color more or less pointilisticaily. The neo-impressionists, 
such as Seurat and Segniac, on the other hand, went a step further in 
that the saturation was made to depend entirely on the synthetic 
principle. They laid on their pigments strictly in dots on a surface 
which was as nearly pure white as possible. Some of these neo-im- 
pressionists had, however, already begun to apply certain of the prin- 
ciples of color apposition in masses which we shall study later. To 
build up a picture pointilistically must obviously greatly increase the 
technical difficulties of the artist, especially with regard to outline 
and form; his freedom of expression is also seriously curtailed. It 
becomes necessary therefore that very great advantages should be the 
outcome of such labor. Among the advantages are the sense of at- 
mosphere, the vibrating, scintillating quality of the color areas and the 


PHYSIOLOGY OF COLOR VISION—-KELLER AND MACLEOD. 729 


very satisfactory transitions at the edges between them, all of which 
are qualities that can be rendered in no way so satisfactorily as by 
pointilism. 

There can be little doubt that a great part of the peculiar impression 
produced by pointilism depends upon the slight movements which the 
eyeballs are constantly undergoing, even during our most intent fix- 
ation. This of course produces a certain amount of overlapping of 
the colors on the retina just as when they are superimposed by means 
of Maxwell’s machine. In the same way vibrations of the eyelids 
by moving the eyelashes across the palpebral cleft assist in the syn- 
thesis, this being made evident by half closing the eyes, a method 
often used in studying pictures. | 

The success with which the desired impression can be created in a 
pointilistic picture often depends upon the purity of the colored dots, 
its vibrating quality being at the same time much enhanced by leaving 
a narrow margin of white around each dot. When this is successfully 
done there comes into play another physiological process known as 
flicker, which can be experimentally produced by rotating disks with 
black and white sectors at a speed which is just insufficient to cause a 
uniform gray. The resulting flicker possesses a glittering quality 
which makes it appear of distinctly greater brightness than the gray 
which results from complete synthesis. ‘The same thing may be seen 
by observing the spokes of a wheel revolving at different velocities. 
Instead of black and white the sectors may be composed of different 
hues. 

In the flicker experiments the gray remains of the same degree of 
saturation at whatever rate the disk is revolving, provided it is re- 
volving more quickly than is necessary to produce complete fusion, 
and so in pointilistic painting, when the picture is viewed beyond the 
distance at which fusion occurs the impression is practically that of 
the older painting. It must be viewed at a distance just short of that 
which is necessary to produce complete synthesis. The post impres- 
sionists, such as Cezanne, Matisse, etc., realizing this limitation in 
pointilism, have been searching after a method by which the color 
scheme maintains its effect on us at whatever distance the picture is 
viewed. The physiological principle upon which this depends is 
that known as contrast, and this we will now proceed to study. 
Being a property exhibited most strikingly in the case of comple- 
mentary hues, it becomes necessary for us to have, besides the color 
triangle, some simple experimental methods by which the comple- 
mentary hues may be determined. Such methods include the experi- 
ments of simultaneous and successive contrast, in connection with 
which many facts of fundamental importance in the use of pigments 
are brought to light. 


730 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


Simultaneous contrast is illustrated by regarding a strip of gray 
against a colored field when the gray becomes tinted with the comple- 
mentary hue. There are two simple methods for performing this 
experiment, one is to spin a colored disk, midway between the center 
and circumference of which is a circle, composed partly of black and 
partly of white; this synthesizes to a gray which becomes tinted with 
the complementary hue of the colored field. The other way is to lay 
a narrow strip of gray paper (cut as a zigzag) on a colored sheet and 
then to cover the whole with thin tissue paper; the gray will assume 
the complementary hue. No experiments in color vision are more 
striking than these, nor are there any that have more direct appli- 
cation in the use of colors in picture painting; thus, a gray wall 
viewed against a sunlit background of green is no gray, but like the 
piece of paper in our experiment it becomes tinted of a purplish hue. 
Similarly, a shadow cast on yellow sand is blue, and one thrown on 
the skin when this is otherwise in strong light often acquires a strik- 
ing quality of green. 

The phenomenon of successive contrast is elicited by steadily regard- 
ing a patch of a certain color for some time and then either closing 
the eyes, or better still, directing the gaze to a neutral surface, such 
as a gray untinted wall. <A vivid color impression of the same shape 
as that of the colored patch previously looked at will be seen in both 
cases, but exhibiting a hue which is complementary to that of the 
patch. 

In the experiments above described the complementary color is 
demonstrated by the use of a gray surface. It is evident, however, 
that, if we cause it to be projected against a background which itself 
possesses a certain hue, the two hues (the complementary and that 
of the regarded surface) will become blended and will have the same 
effect as if they had been spun on a Maxwell’s disk. For example, 
suppose we regard for some time a blue surface and then direct the 
gaze to one of red, the impression will be that of orange, because the 
complementary of blue, being yellow, fuses with red and produces 
orange. 

Having determined the complementaries by means of these contrast 
methods we may confirm our results by color synthesis; thus suppos- 
ing we have determined by the contrast methods that the comple- 
mentary for a certain yellow is a certain blue, we may proceed to 
ascertain whether this is strictly the case by preparing disks composed 
of these two hues and rotating them on Maxwell’s machine. If the 
hues are complementary the greatest possible degree of whiteness 
will be produced. 

Successive contrast finds only a limited application in art, although 
it is of course conceivable that the intensive fixation of one colored 
area in a painting or a design might, by successive contrast, greatly 


PHYSIOLOGY OF COLOR VISION—-KELLER AND MACLEOD. 731 


modify the colored impression created by shifting the eyes to another 
part. It is improbable, however, that any artist has laid on his pig- 
ments with this object in view. Nevertheless, successive contrast 
may assist us greatly in the actual determination of the comple- 
mentary hue. Thus, to take again our example of the gray wall 
against the green background, we may exaggerate the effect of the 
green on the gray by regarding the green for some time and then 
shifting the gaze to the wall, when its purplish hue will be found to 
be much intensified. 

Simultaneous contrast, on the other hand, is of paramount impor- 
tance in art; indeed, it is as important in the final impression pro- 
duced by a painting or a design as any other quality which this may 
possess. This importance depends on the fact that when two colored 
surfaces are placed in apposition each becomes changed as if it were 
mixed to a certain extent with the complementary hue of the other; 
or if a gray or a tint of low saturation (see p. 733) is apposed against 
a saturated color field it will assume a complementary hue of greater 
or less saturation, according to the relative area of brightness of the 
apposing areas. By applying these principles in picture painting 
unsaturated hues may be caused to assume much greater degrees of 
saturation, while, if the apposition be false, hues in themselves of 
almost complete saturation may become dull and subdued. 

To the artist it comes to be of the highest importance that he 
possess some easily remembered scheme by which he can predict these 
contrast effects. The color triangle may be thus employed, but a 
sunpler, though perhaps less scientific device, for the same purpose is 
the chromatic circle of Rood (fig. 2). To construct such a circle we 
must know the wave lengths of the various colors which we desire to 
contrast.1. The differences in wave lengths are then calculated so as 
to correspond to angular differences, these angles being formed by 
the radii of the circle. As in the color triangle, opposite radii will 
join complementary colors and the center will represent white light; 
1. e., the nearer the center the less will be the saturation of the color. 

If one such circle, drawn on transparent paper, be superimposed on 
another, the effect which is produced by contrasting two colors can be 
readily ascertained. Thus, suppose we desire to determine the influ- 
ence which red has when contrasted with the other colors. Having 
accurately superimposed the two circles we move the transparent one 
so that the point on it which corresponds to red is displaced along 
the line joining red and its complimentary, blue-green. The colors on 
the upper circle will now stand in positions on the lower correspond- 
ing to the changes in hue and saturation which they would have 
suffered by contrast with red. Thus orange will stand nearer the 


1This can be done by comparing the colors with those of a highly magnified spectrum 
of white light alongside of which is a scale of wave lengths. 


732 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


center and somewhat nearer yellow, whereas green-blue will merely 
be removed farther from the center, which means that orange will 
become less saturated and yellower, whereas green-blue will increase 
in saturation but be unaltered in hue. 

In general we may say that the effect produced by contrasting two 
colors is to move them farther apart on the chromatic circle, thus 
causing mainly a change in hue in the case of colors that stand near 
one another, but making a change in saturation in those which are far 
apart. 

In order that the contrast effects may be taken full advantage of 
certain conditions must be fulfilled. The most important of these are 
as follows: (1) The complementary tint which gray assumes is most 
vivid when it is somewhat darker (1. e., of less brightness, see p. 734) 

than the hue against 
y which it is apposed, in 
the case of the warm 
colors (the reds, 
oranges, and yellows), 
\ and when it is lighter 
in the case of the cold 
colors (the greens and 
blues). The dividing 
line between the warm 


f 


IX 
iA 
~~ eH - aw” 

2D 

D 


Fic. 2.—RooD’s CHROMATIC CIRCLES AS USED TO SHOW THE 
INFLUENCE OF ONE COLOR ON THE OTHERS. 


i 
E x¢@ and cold colors may be 
é f taken as that joining 
2 is the complementaries, 
a Ps yellow-green and vio- 


let. (2) When a color 
of low saturation (i. e., 
nearly a gray) is ap- 


posed to one of high 
saturation and of complementary hue the former will become more 
saturated, and, conversely, if two colors which are identical in hue 
but of unequal saturation be apposed the paler one may appear gray. 
When they are not complementary the hue which undergoes the 
greater change is that which is the paler. (3) The greatest effects 
are produced when the color field whose hue it is desired to alter is 
much smaller in extent than that of its complementary and when it is 
completely surrounded by the latter. By placing a thick black line 
between the areas the complementary effects may be suppressed. 
Thus the complementary hue which a piece of gray paper placed on 
a colored field assumes when it is viewed through tissue paper be- 
comes much less evident if a thick black line be drawn on the tissue 
paper at the edge of the gray. When the color areas are large, it is at 
the edge only that the complementary influence is noticeable. On 


PHYSIOLOGY OF COLOR VISION—-KELLER AND MACLEOD. 1733 


the other hand, when a colored area is very small it undergoes no 
complementary change, but merely blends with the neighboring color. 
(4) To obtain full advantage of color apposition the colored patterns 
should be very simple and of similar texture and their surfaces should 
be broken up by detail to the least possible degree. (5) The most 
marked complementary effects are obtained when the opposing hues 
are of equal brightness. 

When we attempt to employ the chromatic circle for another pur- 
pose, namely, for determining what will be pleasing and what dis- 
pleasing color combinations, we find that its use is somewhat limited. 
This is because a psychological influence enters into our judgment in 
such cases. In general, however, it may be taken as a working 
hypothesis that good combinations are always more than 80-90° 
apart on the circle; that is, they should be separated from one an- 
other by about one-quarter of the circumference. Even complimen- 
taries may form displeasing combinations (i. e., certain reds and 
greens), in which case, as Rood has pointed out, the hues are usually 
far removed from the line which separates those that are cold and 
warm. When we are compelled to appose hues having a hurtful 
influence on one another, the unpleasing impression which they create 
may be lessened by certain expedients, such as by assigning one of the 
hues to a much smaller field, or by decreasing the saturation of one of 
them, or by adding a third hue whose position on the chromatic circle 
is as far as possible removed from the others; thus the disagreeable 
effect of a yellowish-green and yellow is much improved by the addi- 
tion of some violet, ete. 

So far, for the sake of simplicity, we have regarded but one quality 
of a color, its hue, although in doing this it has been impossible en- 
tirely to neglect the closely related qualities of brightness and satura- 
tion. These we shall now proceed to consider. 

Brightness is most marked, under ordinary conditions of illumina- 
tion, around the yellow portions of the spectrum. It is a property 
which is exhibited in marked degree by different grays. Indeed, it 
is measured by finding a gray which appears of equal brightness to 
that of a given color. Such measurements may be made with con- 
siderable accuracy by finding a gray background against which the 
color becomes indistinguishable when viewed by the very outermost 
portions of the retina which are color blind; that is, which see no hue 
in a color but only a grayness, the degree of which is proportional to 
the brightness of the color.t. To make such comparisons, the person 
must regard a dot in the center of a plain black surface and must then 

1The power to judge hue depends on the presence in the retina of peculiar nerve end- 
ings called cones. These are absent from the peripheral portions and only gradually make 
their appearance toward the center. There is, therefore, a region between the periphery 


and the center of the retina which is partly color blind, blue and yellow being perceptible, 
but red and green still appearing as gray, 


734 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


gradually move a small piece of colored or of gray paper, mounted on 
a. suitable handle, from the periphery toward the center of the sur- 
face. At a certain position the colored paper will be seen as gray, 
because the rays of light from it are striking the color-blind areas of 
the retina. Various grays are used until one is found which matches 
exactly with that created by the colored paper. A still simpler 
method consists in rotating the color on a Maxwell disk along with a 
synthetic gray. In this case judgment of equality may, however, be 
somewhat confused on account of the gray assuming the comple- 
mentary hue. 

Brightness playsa most important part inthe phenomenon of con- 
trast, for not only is the simultaneous contrast of hues obtained most 
strikingly when these are of equal brightness, but we constantly ex- 
perience brightness contrasting itself. Thus pieces of the same gray 
paper placed on gray backgrounds of varying degrees of brightness 
do not look at all alike. It is particularly at the border between the 
two grays that contrast brightness is most evident. This subserves 
the function of creating a sharp border between the grays, and it can 
be demonstrated by causing strips of different gray papers to over- 
lap one another like the tiles of a roof or, still more strikingly, by 
rotating a dise on which when spun appear three circles of different 
grays, each synthesized from black and white. In both experiments 
the grays, though really perfectly uniform, will appear as if shaded 
from their edges. 

Since we measure brightness in terms of grayness, and since it is 
most marked at the yellow portion of the spectrum, it follows that if 
we desire, for successful contrast effects in picture painting, to appose 
yellows with blues or deep reds, we must employ some artificial 
means either to increase the brightness of the blues or reds or to de- 
crease that of the yellows. This can be done by mixing the pigments 
with white (or black), that is to say, we may alter what the artist 
speaks of as the value of the color but which in so far as white is 
used for producing the alteration is more correctly called the satura- 
tion. 

It may indeed be said that the object sought in mixing pigments 
with white (i. e., changing their saturation) is to give the impression 
that their properties of brightness have been altered.‘ - When it is 
desired to raise the brightness of a given color, we can succeed only 
to a limited degree by using more pigment; to obtain it further, we 
must, as already explained, employ the property of simultaneous 
contrast. These methods used by the artist to alter the brightness of 
his colors are, however, liable to have a dulling effect on the whole 
composition unless they are used with great care and judgment. 


1 Brightness must be distinguished from color intensity, which is purely a physical 
property and depends upon the amplitude of the wave lengths, 


PHYSIOLOGY OF COLOR VISION-—KELLER AND MACLEOD. 135 


When he is compelled to lower the saturation of one color he must 
be careful to apply those neighboring on it in such a manner as to 
give the impression that the whole of that portion of the picture is 
of the same brightness. This he may do, either by making his pig- 
ments of similar saturation of by assorting the size of the colored 
areas, so that they appear by contrast to be of similar saturation. 

It is a well-known fact that our judgment of the relative brightness 
of colors, and to a certain extent of their hues, becomes altered when 
the conditions of illumination are changed. A picture viewed in 
broad daylight may create a very different impression from that 
which it produces in dull illumination. For example, its hues may 
be dull and muddy under the conditions of illumination that are 
ordinarily present in a dwelling, or even in a gallery, whereas when 
viewed in broad daylight it may sparkle with brilliancy, or there 
may be very little change in the actual hues, but the portions of the 
picture which appeared to be of greatest brightness in broad day- 
light may in dull light actually shift to some other part. These 
changes are due to what is known as adaptation of the retina. The 
most striking illustration of this is furnished by observing the colors 
of a flower border after sundown. Let us suppose that the border 
contains geraniums (scarlet), lobelia (blue), and coreopsis (orange). 
As darkness approaches it will be noticed that the red geraniums be- 
come duller and duller until at last they turn black; that the orange 
coreopsis also becomes more neutral, but that the blue lobelia main- 
tains the same color qualities as it possessed in daylight. |The most 
remarkable change of all occurs, however, not in the hues, but in the 
relative brightnes of the colors, for it will be noticed that the sensa- 
tion of greatest brightness has gradually shifted from the reds and 
yellows to the blues and greens, so that the foliage and the lobelia 
may actually come to appear brighter than the coreopsis and the 
geraniums. It is needless to point out how important an apprecia- 
tion of these adaptations must be to the artist; how careful he must 
be to paint his picture in the degree of illumination in which he ex- 
pects it to be viewed. The physiological explanation of this adapta- 
tion is that the outer portions of the retina assume a much greater 
degree of sensitiveness in dull light, indeed, they come to be more 
sensitive than the central portion itself. This curious change ex- 
plains why without directly looking at it we may be conscious of the 
presence of a small light in the darkness—a star for example—which, 
however, disappears when we direct our gaze to it. The ability of 
the thus sensitized outer portions of the retina to judge colors differs 
from that of the central portion. 

When we come to apply many of the principles of chromatics in 
art, we are met with difficulties which at first sight, may appear to 
be insurmountable. In most instances, however, this is by no means 


736 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


the case, and we shall now endeavor to show how certain of these 
difficulties can be explained. First of all, with regard to the mixing 
of pigments as compared with the mixing of colored lights, of course 
the two processes yield very different results: for example, mixing 
yellow and blue lights, as we have seen, produces almost pure white, 
whereas mixing these colors as pigments, as every artist knows, 
produces green. The entire want of similarity in the results which 
follow the mixing of colors by the two methods has had the effect 
of making some artists conclude that the laws of chromatics are use- 
less as guides in the practical use of pigments. But this is wrong, 
the apparent difference being, really due to a very simple cause, 
namely, to the fact that by mixing pigment we substract the color rays 
from entering the eye, whereas we add such rays when we mix colored 
lights. To make this clear let us return to our example of blue and 
yellow. When we use these as pigments, we must remember that 
the pigment particles have a certain degree of transparency so that 
light partly penetrates them, certain rays being ther. reflected and 
certain absorbed according to the hue. A blue pigment, for example, 
absorbs all constituent rays of white light except the blue and the 
hues which border on blue in the spectrum, it being impossible to 
procure pigments which are so pure that they do not let some other 
hues besides their own characteristic one pass through them. Simi- 
larly, yellow absorbs all the spectral rays save the yellow, the 
orange, and the green. Adding these two pigments together, we get 
every spectral ray absorbed except green, a certain amount of which 
both pigments have allowed to pass. In a similar way we can ex- 
plain why blue and red give purple and why a mixture of all the 
spectral colors as pigments produces a dark gray of uncertain hue. 

The above applies to a matt surface; when there is any trace of 
glaze, there comes into play another factor which we must now con- 
sider, namely, surface reflection of some white light Avhich has not 
penetrated the pigment particles at all, and which therefore causes 
the color to be more or less unsaturated. It is by diminishing sur- 
face reflection of white light that the colors of a picture may be 
raised in saturation by subjecting it to alechol vapor, which softens 
the medium and removes surface cracks. Reflection of white light 
also takes place at the surface of the pigment particles themselves, 
and is greatly diminished when these are extremely small, hence the 
importance in the manufacture of pigments of thorough grinding. 
It is further minimized by suspending the pigments in oil, because 
this causes the light before it strikes the surface of the pigment par- 
ticles to pass through a medium which is of approximately the same 
density as that of the particles themselves. This reduces the reflec- 
tion, because the greater the difference of density between two media 
the greater the reflection of light at the interface between them. 


PHYSIOLOGY OF COLOR VISION-—KELLER AND MACLEOD. 737 


The quickly vibrating (blue) rays of the spectrum tend to be re- 
flected more readily than the slowly vibrating (red) rays, hence we 
often find that a substance is bluish by reflected light, whereas it is 
reddish when the light passes through it. It is, indeed, for this rea- 
son that during the day the sky looks blue, the light being reflected 
from the fine particles of dust and moisture which are constantly 
suspended in it, whereas after the sun has set it is red because the 
slanting rays come to be transmitted through these particles. 

Artificial illumination alters the hues of pictures mainly because of 
mixture of colored lights; that is to say, of the hue of the light re- 
flected from the surface of the picture and of the hue due to the par- 
ticular pigments employed, Thus, i. we regard a picture in yellow 
light (gas, carbon filament, etc.), the pale blues may appear white 
(mixing of complementary colors), the deeper blues assume a green- 
ish hue, and the reds turn to orange. 

In the colors which we see in nature influences of a similar kind 
are constantly at play, for every object, besides being illuminated by 
the prevailing light, has thrown on to it colors which are reflected 
from near-by objects. In analyzing these influences there are, as 
Rood has pointed out, at least three factors that must be borne in 
mind. ‘These are (1) the natural or “local color” of the object, 
the cause for which we have already explained; (2) the colored light 
which is reflected unaltered from its surface, just as we have seen 
white light to be; (3) the portion of this colored light which is not 
entirely reflected but which penetrates the surface and is then re- 
flected. Let us suppose that we are regarding a red wall of glazed 
brick at the edge of a grass lawn: the local brick red. of the wall 
will be materially altered by surface reflection not only of the white 
light but also of blue-green which, being approximately its comple- 
mentary, tends to lower its saturation and pull it toward neutrality ; 
at the same time, the green rays which have penetrated will on re- 
flection assume a yellowish orange hue. The total effect is therefore 
that the red is somewhat removed toward neutrality and at the same 
time made to assume an orange hue. But it is by no means always 
possible to analyze these color effects, so that we must depend rather 
on the accuracy of the impression which we receive, at the same time 
bearing in mind that even objects with which we usually associate 
the most positive of hues may-under certain conditions become en- 
tirely altered in this regard. In their use of colors, the post-impres- 
sionists are most careful to allow for these influences, although they 
may employ hues to produce them which at-first sight appear to be 
entirely out of place, - 

Finally, we--must say -a. few: words about the relative. refracta- 
bility of different colors; that is to say, the ease with which the 


44863°—s 1913-—47 


738 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


different spectral hues are brought to a focus on the retina. The rays 
of slow vibration, as at the red end of the spectrum, are less readily 
focused than those which vibrate quickly, as at the violet end. Con- 
sequently, when red rays are in focus, violet rays are overfocused and 
vice versa. The application of these principles in art depends on the 
fact that our judgment of distance is partly associated with the 
amount of effort which we must make in order to accommodate our 
vision. At rest the optical apparatus of the eye is accommodated 
for distant objects so that when these come nearer than a certain 
point an effort is required to make the focusing stronger. From the 
amount of this effort we judge in part of the distance of the object. 
Now, it takes more effort to focus red than green or blue rays so that 
we always tend to locate a red object as being nearer than one that is 
blue or green. These facts can be very beautifully demonstrated by 
looking at red and green lamps placed side by side; the green light 
appears to be behind the red. And in picture painting the same 
principles can be applied, and seem to be so in many of the post-im- 
pressionists’ paintings; objects are brought forward by being colored 
in the reds and they are pushed back by the use of blues and violets. 

These facts bring us to a discussion of the influence of the blue- 
violet line which so many post-impressionists are using to outline ob- 
jects to which they desire, without shading, to give the impression of 
rotundity, or more correctly, of projection. The effect of such a line 
is perhaps best demonstrated in still-life studies where its existence 
at the edges of, say, a vase, will, when the picture is viewed at such a 
distance that the line just disappears, cause the vase not only to 
stand forward from its background but also make it appear rotund, 
as if shaded toward the edges. The line is sometimes used in land- 
scape pictures with the object of holding the pattern together. These 
effects are most marked when the object is painted in hues that are 
considerably removed from blue on the chromatic circle, or are of 
much less saturation (more removed toward neutrality). Similar 
effects can sometimes be obtained by the use of a black line, but none 
of the flaring hues can be successfully employed for making it. It 
is difficult to explain the action of these outlines; indeed, it is almost 
certain that several factors play a role in producing the illusion 
which they create. When the line is a blue one and the prevailing 
hue of the color field which it borders tends toward yellow a syn- 
thetic gray will result at a certain distance, thus creating the impres- 
sion that some space exists between the object and its surroundings. 
When a black line separates two colored areas there occurs a certain 
amount of irradiation on to it of the neighboring hues, which there- 
fore undergo a more or less sudden lowering of intensity at its edges, 
which become more and more pronounced toward the middle of the 
line until the hues finally meet and partly overlap, thus producing a 


PHYSIOLOGY OF COLOR VISION—-KELLER AND MACLEOD. 739 


certain amount of synthetic gray. This phenomenon of irradiation 
is well illustrated by comparing two squares of equal size, one being 
black on a white field and the other white on a black field; the white 
square looks distinctly larger than the black one. The reason is that 
the stimulus produced by white, mainly because of imperfect focus- 
ing, spreads on the retina somewhat beyond the margin of its image. 

In this account we have not essayed to explain all of the peculiar 
effects which are produced by some of the most modern creations of 
the so-called post-impressionists. We have merely indicated some of 
the physiological truths of color vision upon which certain of their 
color illusions depend. To go further would require consideration of 
many optical illusions for which at present there exists no satisfac- 
tory explanation. These are not illusions of color but illusions of 
line; indeed, many of the latest post-impressionistic pictures are pro- 
duced almost entirely in black and white, and the peculiar emotions 
which they arouse depend on metaphysical processes whose explana- 
tion we can not undertake to expound. Their aim is “to create an 
illusion of the fact” rather than the fact itself; to write “a visual 
music which shall in itself arouse the emotions.” 


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FUNDAMENTALS OF HOUSING REFORM.’ 


By Dr. JAMES TForp, 
Harvard University. 


A housing problem may be said to exist wherever any portion of a 
population dwells under conditions dangerous to health, safety, or 
morality. The problem is present to some degree in every American 
city. It is usually occasioned primarily by the lack of guidance of 
urban growth, by poor planning of buildings, faulty construction, 
and defective sanitation; it is aggravated by the greed of some 
landlords, the carelessness of some tenants, and ignorance of the 
laws of hygiene on the part of both. The result of bad housing is ill 
health, both physical and moral, and thereby industrial inefficiency, 
unemployment, and a long chain of preventable social maladies, 
which are very costly to the community, and which place a heavy 
handicap upon individual and social achievement. 


HOUSING AND PUBLIC HEALTH. 


Man’s dwelling exerts a marked influence upon his life and char- 
acter. From one-third to one-half of his time—and much more 
than half of the time of women and children—is spent in the home. 
Bad housing conditions affect health insidiously by slowly under- 
mining the vitality and thus rendering the individual susceptible to 
disease. But bad housing conditions also constitute an environment 
favorable to the life of the germs of a number of diseases. For ex- 
ample, the bacillus of pulmonary tuberculosis can live for weeks and 
even months in a dark, damp, ill-ventilated and ill-kept environ- 
ment—in other words, in basement dwellings, in dark halls and dark 
chambers. The germ of typhoid fever may not only be conveyed 
through the water or milk supply of a city, but is stated also to be 
carried by flies and vermin from the filth in which it was deposited 
to the food of urban households. 

Thus a city with an insanitary water supply, or with manure pits 
and garbage pails uncovered in which the fly may breed and privies 
in which the bacillus may be picked up, is an environment favorable 

1 Revised and extended by author from article in ‘‘ The American City,’ New York, 


May, 1913. 
741 


742 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913, 


to the spread of typhoid fever. The tenement house with its halls, 
stairs, and water closets shared by many families becomes a sort of 
clearing-house of the contagious diseases—scarlet fever, measles, etc. 
The common water-closet may be the source of spread of venereal 
disease. The indiscriminate overcrowding of sleeping rooms by both 
sexes may result in the spread of the same diseases and also in an 
undermining of the health of adolescents and adults through neu- 
rasthenia and other diseases which over-stimulation of sexual instinct 
and its unsatisfactory fulfillment may occasion. 


HOUSING AND PUBLIC SAFETY. 


The safety of an urban population is in many ways affected by 
housing conditions. The overcrowding of lots with buildings erected 
of combustible material creates a serious conflagration risk, especially 
where buildings are of frame exterior or are used both as stores and 
dwellings, as is common in our large American cities. Fire escapes 
reduce the danger to tenants from fire, but improperly constructed 
fire escapes constitute a new risk from accident. The presence of 
stores, bakeries, and work shops in nonfireproof tenement houses; 
the storage of combustible materials, such as rags, paints, etc.; the 
encumbrance of fire escapes; the proximity of railroads, and the 
manufacture of explosives—all affect in varying degree the safety of 
the tenant. 

HOUSING AND MORALITY. 


Intimately dependent upon the housing conditions is the morality 
of the population. The crowding of rooms with three or more 
members of a family, children of both sexes sleeping together or with 
parents, and the presence of lodgers within the tenement make im- 
possible the maintenance of high standards of personal decency. 
Premature knowledge of sex function by the children is the inevitable 
result of overcrowding, and often morbid stimulation of sex instincts, 
sex perversion and vice originate in room congestion. Yet indis- 
criminate crowding of sleeping rooms prevails very widely within 
the immigrant population groups of our cities. The dark halls and 
common toilets add to the menace for the growing children of the 
tenements; and frequently the presence of commercialized vice within 
residence quarters familiarizes the child with the worst element of 
our civilization before the child’s mind is far enough developed to 
resist the superficial allurement. 


HOUSING AND EFFICIENCY. 


A general reduction of vitality, or disease of any sort acquired 
through residence under conditions above described, results neces- 
sarily in reduction of industrial efficiency. Disease causes absence 
from work, which means reduced earnings, increased expenses, and 


HOUSING REFORM-——FORD. 743 


perhaps also a long period of unemployment before new work is 
found. In extreme examples a state of mind which has been termed 
“slum disease” is apparent, in which individuals have become chron- 
ically indifferent or careless because they have found themselves 
unable to cope effectively with an always depressing environment. 
The serious effect of this attitude of mind upon industrial output is 
obvious. 
HOUSING AND SOCIAL WELFARE. 


It is impossible to create a high civilization in a democracy where 
a large portion of the population must exert its entire life in strug- 
gling against destructive environmental conditions. The body is 
the tool of both mind and soul. <A healthy body is a first requisite 
of the largest moral life. An individual can contribute little to the 
promotion of general well-being until rid of the weakness or pain 
which ill health causes. The essential prerequisite of efficient democ- 
racy is a healthful home life, with elimination of all the destructive 
elements now present in our slums and with the presence of the con- 
structive elements—sanitation, safety, ventilation, sunlight, space, 
privacy, and beauty. 

HOUSING LEGISLATION. 


Public action, to render the existing slum less dangerous to physical 
and moral health, begins in “health acts,’ the provision of public 
water supply, public sewage systems, and the regular collection of 
refuse. Modern cities or States usually go further and frame health 
laws, governing the minimum sanitary conditions of existing dwell- 
ings. In America the inspection under these laws ordinarily falls as 
an additional task to existing health or police departments. Build- 
ing codes, enforced by a local department of buildings, generally 
set minimum standards for the construction of new buildings. There 
is a definite modern tendency to fuse requirements covering new and 
old tenement houses in tenement house acts or housing acts passed 
by State legislatures. Such acts may apply to specified cities, to 
cities of specified classes, or to an entire State, and may be either 
compulsory or permissive. The requirements should cover height of 
new or altered buildings, size of yards, courts, rooms, the lighting 
of rooms and halls, fireproofing, etc., and should establish standards 
of sanitation and upkeep which would make it impossible for any 
person to build or occupy a tenement which is demonstrably danger- 
ous to health, safety, or morality. Administration under such acts 
should be definitely provided for, with ample penalties and ample 
funds for continuous and careful inspection, and for all office work 
involved under the act. The details of such laws are suggested by 
the experience of New York City, New Jersey State, Columbus, and 
by Mr. Lawrence Veiller’s recent book “A Model Housing Law.” 


744 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 19138. 


THE CITY PLAN AND THE HOUSING PROBLEM. 


The planning of cities involves the adjustment of the physical re- 
sources of the city to meet the needs of its population, present and 
future. The proper planning of cities may be made to improve hous- 
ing conditions in a variety of ways. The functions of city planning 
may be considered conveniently under two captions. First, the re- 
modeling of the old city, and second, the determination of the mode of 
development of new sections. Of these the first program is largely 
remedial in character, while the second is fundamentally preventive. 

From the housing point of view the remodeling of portions of the 
city already built may not have a marked effect upon the dwelling 
conditions of the population in quarters so treated. In any district in 
which streets are widened or trees or grass strips are placed, impetus 
for the remodeling of old buildings is likely to be purely superficial. 
A new brick face may be placed on an old insanitary building. The 
dark room may remain. Still under such conditions the occupants 
profit by an increase of light and air from the widened street, by 
purification of air where trees are placed and by the increased 
beauty of their outlook. 


THE INSANITARY AREA. 


City planning within the heart of a built-up city may also involve 
schemes for dealing in a large way with districts in which the houses 
are highly insanitary and are beyond repair, positively unsafe, and 
dangerous to health and morality. There are many ways in which a 
district of this sort can be treated. First, it may be neglected by 
health and tenement departments that are overworked and unable 
to deal with a problem so large and apparently hopeless. In the sec- 
ond place an attempt might be made to repair the district, either at 
the cost of the city or by the city at the cost of the owners (the Bir- 
mingham method), or the owners might be ordered to make the neces- 
sary repairs at their own expense. Special powers would be necessary 
if improvements on private estates are to be made by the municipality 
at public expense. The third program would undoubtedly result in a 
patchwork reform. No one of these programs is adequate to deal 
with such districts; they are merely palliative and might reduce but 
would not destroy the unhealthfulness of such a district. 

Another possibility would be the complete destruction of the entire 
area by the city. This might be done with the intention of replacing 
the area with a park—as was done by New York City, for example, in 
the notorious Mulberry Bend—or the area could be rebuilt by the city 
with municipal dwellings or other buildings. The cost of the first 
half of this latter program renders it undesirable if there is a cheaper 
alternative which is equally effective. As for the latter, municipal 


HOUSING REFORM—FORD. 745 


rebuilding of insanitary areas, even in London and Liverpool, where 
municipal housing is an accepted form of municipal business, has 
never proved a paying undertaking, chiefly for the following reasons: 
- 1. The original cost of the land and of the destruction of the insan- 
itary houses is either prohibitive or places a too heavy initial charge 
upon the undertaking. 

2. It has been found impossible to build municipal tenements on 
the same area to house healthfully as many persons as were dishoused 
by the slum-clearance scheme. 

3. The original dishoused population tends to crowd with other 
families in small tenements while the area is being rebuilt, and does 
not return to the new buildings when completed, largely because the 
rents are inevitably higher than they were for the original accommo- 
dation. 

4. It becomes profitable for a low class of speculators to buy insan- 
itary property and hold it unrepaired in the hope that the Govern- 
ment will purchase it for a slum-clearance scheme of this sort, paying 
them, as is usually the case, more for the land and buildings than they 
are really worth. 

Even if these arguments were not operative in American cities, 
municipal housing would for the present at least be undesirable, 
both because it is unnecessary (private capital, properly encouraged, 
can be relied upon to provide the necessary accommodations) and 
also because in our American cities we can not guarantee the con- 
tinued employment of expert men to operate a municipal housing 
department. Municipal housing will not pay where long tenure of 
office can not be guaranteed to efficient administrators, or where poli- 
tics and slender appropriations can ruin the work of competent 


administrators. 
TAXATION OF LAND VALUES. 


Another possible way of dealing with such an area deserves very 
serious and extensive consideration, and that is the use of a system 
of heavy taxation of land values or of the unearned increment. As 
these measures involve many other considerations besides those of 
housing, these other bearings of the subject should, of course, be 
studied with utmost care before the adoption of the scheme. As a 
fiscal measure, however, the taxation of the unearned increment from 
Jand values is, without doubt, a peculiarly just form of taxation and 
is calculated to bring large annual sums into the city treasury. There . 
is no question that the community is chiefly responsible for increases 
in land values. It is just, therefore, for the community to appropri- 
ate such increases in value, especially if it can do so without placing 
any hardship upon industry. The only serious difficulties arise in 
determining a practical method of appropriation and assessment. 


746 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


The diverse schemes of New Zealand, Germany, England, and west- 
ern Canada should, therefore, be studied, and the desirability of 
using one of these methods should be considered. 

The application of a heavy tax on land values (Vancouver method) 
in the district under consideration [a district in which the value of 
the land far exceeds the value of improvements upon the land] would 
have a marked effect upon housing conditions, and would be the 
cheapest way (assuming that a just method of appropriation was 
found and employed) in which the city could deal with this district. 
If the tax were taken off the buildings within such a district and the 
entire tax was levied upon land, the owners of this property would 
find it unprofitable to hold their land in its present wretched state. 
If the entire tax of the city were levied upon land values, the owners 
of all property that is improved would find their taxes reduced, but 
the holders of vacant land or of land uneconomically developed would 
find their taxes increased, and would be confronted with the necessity 
of building or of selling to some individual who would be willing to 
build. 


IMPORTANCE OF RADIAL STREETS. 


The housing conditions of a city are affected materially by the 
street plan. If suburbs are not accessible directly and cheaply from 
the centers of industry and commerce, population will tend to crowd 
in tenements near the heart of the city. Suburbs are rendered espe- 
cially accessible by means of broad, direct, radial streets, suggestively 
termed the arteries of the city. Many American cities are built upon 
a gridiron plan of streets, which renders certain suburbs peculiarly 
remote because accessible only by following two legs of a triangle 
instead of following directly upon the hypotenuse. | 


TENEMENT VERSUS COTTAGE. 


The type of city plan which should be secured for your city must 
depend upon our answer to the question, What is the most desirable 
dwelling place, the tenement or the cottage? In the cities of the 
Northeastern States we have become accustomed to the tenement 
house and do not ordinarily question its social utility. There is 
scarcely a city in the country that is attempting in any well-consid- 
ered way to eliminate the tenement house, yet there can be no ques- 
tion but that it is an undesirable place of residence for families with 
children. Even for the childless family, the most expensive apart- 
ment house as well as the cheapest tenement may constitute an unde- 
sirable environment, because of the facility with which disease may 
spread from one apartment to its neighbor through the common hall 
and through the mediation of vermin which pass easily from one 
suite to another. 


HOUSING REFORM—-FORD. T47 


Where people live in apartments there is also concentration of pop- 
ulation and hence much traffic in the neighboring streets, which keeps 
the air full of dust and noise and thus renders apartment living un- 
desirable. The sounds from neighboring apartments frequently make 
rest and quiet impossible. True privacy and solitude, though very 
important to the moral growth of the individual, are difficult to 
obtain. 

For the family with children the apartment is still less desirable. 
It becomes impossible for the mother of a family to choose the asso- 
ciates for her children, to prevent her child from coming in contact 
with children or adults of unwholesome character who may reside 
within the same building. The tenement mother can not supervise 
the outdoor play of her child. In general the atmosphere of the 
tenement or apartment house is one destined to create a race of adults 
that are unhealthful, puny, and socially highly artificialized. 

In the cottage, however, it is possible to obtain all necessary pri- 
vacy for true home life and personal development. The reduced dust 
of suburban communities and the larger penetration of sunlight make 
cottage homes healthier living places for infants and growing chil- 
dren. The mother of the family, while at work in her Kitchen, can 
supervise the play and the associates of her child in the garden. The 
adults of the family, if so inclined, can profit in health at least—and 
sometimes in economy—by cultivating a garden outside of working 
hours. The children gain the advantage and education that come 
from daily contact with the things of nature, especially through the 
garden. It is probable, therefore, that, at least for families with chil- 
dren, the suburban home is preferable to the tenement. 

It is, however, impracticable to house the population of large cities 
in cottage homes unless such homes can be constructed to rent for a 
price (including both the cost of land and of the daily transit to and 
from work) no higher than the same family would pay for an equal 
number of rooms within the city tenement. Furthermore, families 
working within the city will not live in the suburbs if a too large pro- 
portion of their working day is consumed in transit to and from such 
residence. If any working member of such family is employed for 
10 or 12 hours a day in the heart of the city, the residence should not 
ordinarily be placed more than one-half hour’s ride from the place 
of business. To secure cottage homes, therefore, for the working 
classes of our cities, it is essential to have rapid and cheap transit, 
serving satisfactorily all of the possible outlying residential section. 
It is equally necessary to have an abundance of cheap land and to 
make possible the cheap construction of cottage homes. 

One means of encouraging cottage construction is to discourage 
tenement building. If, for example, we require tenement houses 


748 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


over four stories high to be constructed fireproof throughout, as do 
Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Scranton, St. Paul, and St. Louis—and 
require the three or four story tenements to have brick exterior, 
stairs, halls, and fire towers—investors in house property will cort- 
struct houses less than three stories in height because they will be 
comparatively cheaper in cost per unit of construction. Massa- 
chusetts towns, which have adopted the permissive tenement-house 
act for towns—Belmont, Arlington, Winthrop, ete.—have elimi- 
nated the three-story tenement house for the future by requiring that 
every tenement house three stories in height shall be fireproof 
throughout. The cities above mentioned are all of them peculiarly 
free from high tenement houses. 


THE ZONE SYSTEM. 


The measures above indicated would tend to eliminate from your 
city all new construction of high tenement houses except for apart- 
ment houses of the well-to-do classes. They would not, however, ab- 
solutely prevent any man from constructing such apartment houses 
on any lot in the city or suburb which he might chance to own. It 
would still be possible for a man to place a high apartment house in 
the midst of a block of private residences, shutting out light from his 
neighbors’ homes, marring the beauty of their outlook with the ugly 
back of his building, and bringing into that street a class of popula- 
tion of different tastes and perhaps of a type from which neighbor- 
ing parents would wish to protect their children. The city of Cal- 
gary, in Alberta, attempts to meet this difficulty by providing in its 
local building code that no owner shall build an apartment house 
within any city block unless two-thirds of the other owners in the 
block give their assent. This provision is, however, inequitable, in 
that it does not give all the persons who are interested in the erection 
of such apartment house an opportunity to vote. The owner of the 
property across the street would be equally affected by the building 
of such apartment house; so, also, in less degree, would the passerby 
whose outlook may be marred by its erection. 

To protect a community from the intrusion of undesirable building 
types, it might be desirable here, as in German cities, to establish a 
zone system of building. The essential feature of the zone system is 
that a city is divided into districts in which building types are per- 
manently fixed. In the heart of the city the highest buildings may be 
erected (six stories, in the case of Vienna) ; in the next district, near 
the center of the city, buildings may be erected one story less high 
and perhaps covering a smaller proportion of their lot. In the third 
district will be found again a reduced height and a reduced per- 
centage of lot area to be covered. In outlying districts, contiguous 


. 


HOUSING REFORM—FORD. 749 


building, tenement construction, or building to the lot line is not per- 
mitted, and frequently only 40 per cent of a lot may be covered. 

The constitutionality of the zone system has been tested in Boston, 
which has two zones, one for building 125 feet high maximum, and 
the other with a maximum of 80 feet. More elaborate zoning is now 
in practice in Minneapolis. 

A zone system would inevitably involve the districting of factories 
if the welfare of the community is to be conserved. Where factories 
and tenements are mingled, the gases may render living conditions 
unhealthful or unpleasant. German cities very generally restrict 
their factories to quarters of the city in which available transporta- 
tion facilities can be rendered of the best, and to quarters from which 
the prevailing winds will carry the smoke, dust, gases, and noise 
away from the city. 


DECENTRALIZATION OF INDUSTRY. 


One other adjustment of the factory and cottage home is ordi- 
narily termed industrial decentralization. In England especially 
housing reformers have agitated for the removal of factories from 
cities into the open country where land is cheap and abundant, where 
transportation facilities can very frequently be rendered of the best, 
and where each worker can live in a cottage home. Such industrial 
communities may be established cooperatively, as in the case of the 
British “ Garden City,” or may be established by the owners of fac- 
tories, as is the current American practice, the houses in this case be- 
ing erected by the manufacturer either to rent or to sell on easy terms 
to his employees. 


THREE METHODS OF REDUCING THE COST OF SUBURBAN LAND. 


Cottage construction for workingmen is impossible at present wage 
rates unless land can be procured which is both accessible to work 
and cheap. Much of the suburban land in American cities is being 
held vacant to-day by speculators in the hope of reaping a large in- 
crease in land values. Accessible land is not easy to procure in small 
parcels. There are several ways, however, in which it may be ren- 
dered more available. German cities, for example, quite generally 
buy up their suburbs and then sell the land in small plots under heavy 
restrictions as to its future use or transfer, or else lease this land to 
home builders on long-term leases. By this means suburban land 
prices can be kept low, the city receiving the unearned increment of 
its land in the form of enjoyment by working people of its proper 
usage for homes, instead of receiving it in the form of taxes or rents. 
The city of Ulm, Germany, between the years 1891 and 1909, thus 
purchased 1,208 acres of land for $1,390,000, and sold 404 acres under 


750 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913, 


restrictions for $1,633,000, thus reaping from its transaction 804 
acres of land, $242,000 in money, and the lowest tax rate in Wur- 
temburg. 

Land prices may be similarly restrained or communities can demo- 
cratically share the advantages accruing from the unearned incre- 
ment of land by means of cooperative development. The Copartner- 
ship Tenants Societies formed by artisans, mechanics, and clerks in 
some 20 British cities, have thus bought patches of suburban land, 
from 10 to 300 acres in size, at reduced cost per unit; have developed 
such land cooperatively at reduced cost per unit for architect’s sery- 
ices, laying of streets, plumbing, sewerage, etc.; have built their 
houses cooperatively, purchasing materials for 50 or more houses 
at once at considerably reduced costs. Each tenant pays rent for his 
cottage home to the Copartnership Tenants Society to which he and 
his neighbors belong, and receives his profits (aside from 5 per cent 
interest earned by his share capital) in the form of dividends on 
rents, paid not in cash but shares of stock in the society. The un- 
earned increment of the land is the common property of the coop- 
erating members and enhances their profits. The Harborne Copart- 
nership Society in its garden suburb on the outskirts of Birmingham, 
England, was formed by workingmen who to-day pay rents for these 
cottage homes at rates no higher than they paid previously for in- 
sanitary slum tenements in the city. Yet this society is already able 
to pay 8 per cent dividends on rents in addition to the regular 5 per 
cent interest on invested capital. The British workingmen have, 
however, had more experience in cooperative methods than have the 
American workingmen. 

This method of cheapening and facilitating suburban development 
is not applicable here without an intermediate period of careful 
study of cooperative methods by the workingmen who plan the 
association, and preferably should not be tried until they have had 
some experience in some form of cooperative practice. Garden sub- 
urbs of this character in England and in Germany have been fa- 
cilitated by cheap loans of capital from philanthropists and from 
the governments of these countries. If capital might be obtained 
from some source at 4 per cent interest for building loans, and if the 
experiment had the backing of influential citizens, 1t would be much 
easier to make it a success. 

A third means of reducing the cost of land per cottage would be by 
use of the land tax already described. If the tax were taken off 
improvements and placed exclusively upon the land, the vacant land 
now held in the suburbs by speculators would be placed upon the 
market or built upon. It is probable that land under such condi- 
tions would be more readily available to modest purchasers in the 
suburbs, and in so far would make suburban housing possible. 


HOUSING REFORM—FORD, 751 
RESIDENTIAL STREETS. 


Residential streets are often rendered costly through unnecessary 
width and through the expensive provision of curbs and sidewalks. 
Some residence streets must be used for a fairly large local traffic. 
Others are by their very nature and direction precluded from such 
use. A careful study of this problem will indicate that in certain 
suburban residential quarters the width of streets might easily be re- 
duced to the provision of a 16 to 22 foot roadway flanked by grass 
strips. By establishing a building line on each side of such roadway 
at some distance from the street, it would be possible for the city to 
widen its streets without serious expense if that should ever prove 
necessary. The provision of sidewalks on both sides of the street is 
also not invariably necessary in suburban quarters where a street is 
purely local. If the street is developed only to such degree as to ren- 
der it adequate for its local service, the cost of street construction will 
constitute a much less burden upon home owners. 


SIZE AND SHAPE OF LOTS. 


There are several serious disadvantages in having lots of uniform 
shape. In the first place a popular prejudice is created for the 
prevailing deep and narrow lot which is not easily dislodged, and 
the poor man who wishes to build a cottage home is socially con- 
strained to purchase a lot 100 feet deep whether he needs so much 
land or not. It is, perhaps, the safest thing for a city to have stand- 
ard lots, at least in the heart of the city, until the science of lot dis- 
tribution and usage is developed. It is not easy to make a definitive 
prescription for the employment of lots of any other specific size 
which would be more satisfactory for all purposes. But the lack of 
elasticity in present lot shapes and sizes is fraught with serious 
consequences. The 25 by 100 foot lot can not be used economically 
for workingmen’s cottages. It is wasteful of land at the rear, for 
the American workingman will not ordinarily start a garden as will 
the English or Italian. It is parsimonious of land at the sides of 
houses, especially if built in the two-flat style. It becomes impos- 
sible to construct two-flat houses on lots of this shape which will not 
be too near to the lot line and thus to neighboring houses. 

If the arterial streets of a city are broad and sufficiently straight, 
and there are occasional broad cross streets within the residential 
zones, It should be possible to plan much of the remaining residential 
land with narrow dirt streets for local service purely, often, perhaps, 
with one sidewalk or none, grass strips and trees at the sides, and a 
building line for houses on abutting lots. These streets might wind, 
which would enhance their beauty; and if on a hillside, ought to 


752 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913, 


wind in some accordance with the contour lines of the hill. In such 
quarters, lots of varying shapes and sizes would be possible. 

Near factory quarters, where land values are not yet prohibitive, 
the Philadelphia type of housing might be promoted by the estab- 
lishment of lots of 14 or 15 feet in width and perhaps 40 feet deep, 
to be built up with 4-room or 6-room cottages, two stories in 
height, with brick dividing walls on the lot line. Houses of this 
type could be constructed so as to be available even for the families 
of day laborers, as the experience of Philadelphia has proved. Pref- 
erably if this type of house is to be used, builders should be provided 
by some competent authority with standard plans showing types of 
construction that are cheapest in design and at the same time health- 
ful and varied in exterior. Multiple cottages of this type can be 
constructed to rent or to sell. Streets may be narrow without dark- 
ening rooms, but provision should be made for grass strips and trees 
on all streets of this character, relieving their monotony of type and 
improving the air for the semicrowded occupants. 

In the outlying portions of the city’s contiguous suburbs, both 
straight and winding streets may be provided, and in specific quar- 
ters lots narrow or wide, shallow or deep, may be accepted according 
to the prospective use of the quarter. In general, however, the 
narrow lot should be avoided in such suburbs, and the permission to 
plat deep lots might be granted, or parks or allotment gardens 
planned in the center of certain blocks if the city guarded the right 
to push a minor street through the middle of the block in the future. 
Both one and two family houses could be constructed more economi- 
cally and to greater social advantage on lots from 30 to 35 feet in 
width and 60 to 70 feet in depth than they can now on the 25 by 100 
feet lot. On the wider lot, as specified, houses can be constructed 
with square-floor plan, two rooms abreast and two or three rooms 
deep, reducing somewhat the cost of construction, the cost of heating, 
and the cost of furnishing such homes. Furthermore, the lot 35 by 
60 feet in dimensions uses 400 square feet less of land than the lot of 
25 by 100 feet. On it a house may be built with two rooms of ordi- 
nary size abreast and may yet leave 5 feet on the side to each lot line. 
The house may be built two rooms deep and leave a 10-foot lawn 
in front (insured by municipal provision for a building line) and a 
25-foot yard in the rear, which may be encroached upon by a third 
room in the depth of the house or by a piazza, or may be used as a 
garden. The only serious disadvantage of this lot plan lies in that 
‘ it provides for an increased-street frontage, and thereby a larger cost 
to the owner for road construction, etc. But if street costs in resi- 
dence sections are reduced by the means above specified, there will 
unquestionably be a net gain to society from the use of this method 
of platting. 


HOUSING REFORM—FORD. 753 


Irregular lots on winding streets can be rendered economical and 
exceedingly beautiful if developed cooperatively in the manner 
already described. The British copartnership garden suburbs are so 
planned and yet are able to house workingmen at current rates. 


PUBLIC SUPERVISION OF SUBURBAN DEVELOPMENT. 


If your city is to determine its housing development, it is essential 
that there be a municipal commission empowered to establish (sub- 
ject to district referendum) the building zones of the city, to pass 
upon, and, if necessary, reject plans of land companies for estate 
development, to determine also the direction, width, paving, and 
planting of new streets, with power to inaugurate schemes and 
enforce its decisions in so far as they affect vitally the welfare of the 
community. There should be a permanent city plan commission 
for the metropolitan district, even if the suburbs of the city are not 
all (as they should be) incorporated within the political city. There 
is much European precedent for the establishment of such commis- 
sions with power. German cities are so provided. English cities, 
under the town-planning act of 1909, may secure power to regulate 
the methods and extent of development of land likely to be used for 
building purposes within, or in the neighborhood of, their area. 
They also have power to limit the number of buildings which may 
be erected per acre and the height and character of those buildings. 

In America city-planning powers of this type are already being 
given by provincial governments of the cities of Canada. In Ontario, 
for example, local town-planning commissions have power to pass 
on all lot distribution of towns of 50,000 inhabitants or more, and 
cities may plan for the area within 5 miles of their limits. No 
lots may be sold until such plans are approved. The value of this 
power is reduced in so far as the promotion of workingmen’s sub- 
urban homes is concerned by the requirement that all streets shall 
be at least 60 feet wide. The provinces of western Canada have given 
quite similar power to their cities. In the States, somewhat similar 
powers have already been granted to cities in Pennsylvania and Wis- 
consin. And that power under the Wisconsin law regarding the 
platting of land near cities, adopted in 1909, extends to all land 
within 14 miles of the limits of such cities. 


THE COST OF COTTAGE CONSTRUCTION. 


Suburban development will be encouraged not only by keeping 
low the price of land and restricting its use but also by any reduction 
that can be made in the cost of constructing cottage homes for work- 
ing men. In general it is possible to construct tenement houses which 


44863°—sm 19183——48 


754 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


shall be cheaper per unit of accommodation than cottage homes. 
This will probably not be true where tenement houses are required to 
be fireproof. It is, however, advisable for citizens who are aware of 
the urgency of their local housing problems to experiment in the con- 
struction of detached and multiple cottages. The best ability of 
architects in America has been turned to monumental work, but the 
important social problem of designing cheap cottages has been almost 
overlooked by them. In England the attention of the best architects 
has been turned to this problem by the holding of competitions with 
prizes for the best cottage constructed for a specified sum (£175 
in the case of the first cheap cottages exhibition, Garden City, 1905). 
The purchase of the houses constructed may be guaranteed by the 
promoting body. 

It would be desirable to interest the best-trained architects of 
America in this problem, for by competition among them new ar- 
rangements of houses and new materials for construction will be 
brought to public attention. Such a competition might be held by a 
municipality (as, for example, one was held at Sheffield, England, in 
1907), but such competition could be held with equal satisfaction by 
some private organization. The cost of cottage construction may be 
reduced also by large-scale building, buying and developing several 
acres of land ata time. This may be done by philanthropic associa- 
tions, by employers of labor, by commercial building companies, or 
by cooperative associations of tenants. It is in experiments of the 
type above indicated that private organizations can do their best 
work in meeting the problem of promoting suburban housing. 


THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL ROLE OF FASHION. 


By PIERRE CLERGET, 
Director of the High School of Commerce, Lyon, France. 


Fashion is a social custom, transmitted by imitation or by tradition. 
It is a form of luxury, luxury in ornamentation. Voltaire says: 
There is a fickle, teasing goddess 
Fantastic in her tastes, playful in adornment, 


Who at every season seems to flee, return, and rise again. 
Proteus was her father, her name is Fashion. 


Many writers have sounded the caprices of fashion, its frequent 
coming, its suddennness. It is changeable,’ unreliable, frivolous; the 
most careful calculations are often brushed aside for the most trifling 
causes. Another characteristic is its universal following. Domineer- 
ing, 1t reigns supreme over all classes of society. While this “ de- 
mocracy of fashion” is quite recent, yet the taste for finery is as old 
as the world. 

An English archeologist, Mr. Evans, found in the Mycenaean 
palace of Knossos in Crete some frescoes painted 1,400 years 
before our era, showing ladies of the court clothed in resplend- 
ent garments, with enormous leg-of-mutton sleeves held to the neck 
by a narrow ribbon; their flounced skirts, ornamented with em- 
broidered bands, are expanded behind by enormous bustles. 

Writings and monuments tell us that under the Empire changes 
of fashion and peculiarity in costumes were customary at Rome. 
During the Middle Ages, an author of the twelfth century wrote: 
“France, whose humor varies continuously, ought to have some 
garments which would proclaim her instability.” In the fifteenth 
century, Robert Gaguin reproached Parisians “for always being 
eager for novelties and unable to retain the same style of clothing 
for 10 successive years.” 


17Translated by permission from the Revue Economique Internationale, Brussels, vol. 2, 
No. 1, Apr. 15-20, 1913. 

2“*One fashion has hardly brushed aside another when it is abolished by a new one 
and this in turn gives way to one which follows, but this one will not be the last.” 
La Brugeére. ‘ The new style of dressing makes the older fashion out of date, so forcefully 
and with such general agreement that it might be called a kind of mania which turns the 
senses round.’’—Montaigne. 

* Cited by L. Bourdeau, Histoire de l’habillement et de la parure. 8° F. Alcan, 1904, 
p. 197. 


756 


756 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


Until the thirteenth century, women’s costumes were chiefly tunics 
or robes, marked by plain and natural simplicity. It was only to- 
ward the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, under Francis I and 
Henry II, that dresses were designed following the lines of the body. 
Women then appeared with fitted doublets, skirts, and wraps with 
collars. The sleeves were leg-of-mutton and balloon shaped, filled 
with plaits, or very tight, and these shapes often have been imitated 
in our day. This was the starting point of fashion which will sleep 
only for perpetual reawakening, making evolutions in irregular 
cycles at the will of its creators. Under Henry III we find the 
pointed waist, held in place by a stiff corset, the puffed sleeves; the 
dress already had the hoop-petticoat which fashion revived again 
in 18380. 

The reign of Henry IV brought us the great bell skirt, built on 
springs, which we find later with the crinoline. This tendency 
toward fullness in the skirt kept increasing until 1605, bringing 
some dresses to enormous proportions, with ruffles adding .to their 
size. Then, toward the end of the seventeenth century the fullness 
diminished, giving way to padded dresses, concealed under mantle 
wraps, and in 1880 they reappeared again. Reduction in the size of 
the skirt continued until about 1750 when fullness again came into 
fashion, and by 1785 the skirts were ridiculously full, expanded with 
great hoops. There was another reaction and the hoop-skirt gave 
way first to the bustle, then in 1793 came the one-piece dress, with 
a running string and without ornamentation. Greek robes were seen 
ata fétes and on the stage. The directoire dress, very close-fitting, 
exaggerated the plaited style and resembled the trousers skirt of 
recent date. The empire costume, with the waist high under the 
bosom, was only another transformation of the directoire dress, 
showing at that time a tendency to fullness in the form. 

After 1805 the cycles began to shorten, the wheel turned faster, and 
without stopping, until we find a general style used by all classes of 
society. Skirts were worn very full again toward 1810 and, passing 
through all sorts of gradations, with a partial return of fullness in 
the back, ended in 1860 to 1865 in the culminating point of the crino- 
line. This marks the departure from Orientalism and brings us to- 
ward the epoch when very simple and straight robes were worn until 
we reach the other extreme, the clinging gown, not forgetting the 
harem skirt, an exaggerated revised edition of the eccentricities of 
the period from 1805 to 1815. We must pause to resume slowly but 
surely the march toward the puffed or padded styles. 

How is fashion created? Since the days of Worth in 1846, it has 
been the well-known modiste who has been the creating artist. His 


1 Bulletin des Soies et des Soieries, Aug. 18, 1911. 


ECONOMIC ROLE OF FASHION—CLERGET. 757 


popularity is such that it has become a regular habit to visit his 
establishment, and as Pierre Mille? says, “he knows how to make 
the worldly minded dress and how to prattle,” as shown by Gervex’s 
painting “chez Paquin 4 cing heures.” The modiste seeks out the 
designs, fits the forms, harmonizes the lines and styles. Each estab- 
lishment decides upon a model and then selection is made from public 
opinion expressed at the great gatherings at Auteuil and Longchamp. 
Each modiste has a representative there and in broad daylight they 
make comparisons, listen to criticisms, make after-touches, and the 
“complete results of the races” told in the Paris evening papers 
omit the most striking act of the day: Fashion was born and a 
humble seamstress may have had the chance to invent it. 

The fashion created, there is haste to make it known, to launch it. 
Under the monarchical régimes and under the first and second em- 
pires, the court fulfilled that duty and gave fashion some distinction. 
It is only since the first Republic, or particularly since the third Re- 
public, that the prevailing style has been anything more than the 
reflection of the will of the sovereign whose ideas and customs had 
the force of law. Under the first empire, Josephine abhored a stiff 
style of garment; she preferred the low-neck gown with high waist 
and flexible skirt; her hair arranged with the bandeau. Roman art 
then ruled, brought about by Josephine. Empress Eugénie had like 
influence under the second empire, and to her we owe the taste for 
a comfortable style, and stuffed, silk-covered furniture.® 

To-day the style is made public by mannequins at the race course, 
on the street, at the theater, by actors on the stage, and by such 
social functions as a wedding or a ball. The fashion at the theater 
seems to be playing an increasing role. Fashionable modistes have 
recently announced their intention of having their mannequins re- 
placed by actresses, who on the stage, by their grace, their elegance, 
their beauty, their prestige, would tend to a more ready acceptance 
of fashion’s extravagant innovations. Madame Jane Hading, in the 
play of L’Attentat, introduced the dress known as the “aile de 
cabeau” or winged pannier. And Madame Martha Brandés created 
the style of sleeves since known by her name. When La Walkyrie 
was first presented at the opera, white wings like those attached to 
Brunehilde’s helmet were worn on hats, and the armor of the warlike 
maiden gave to dressmakers the idea of spangled robes, much resem- 
bling the breastplate. The use of pheasant plumage became more 


1 Pierre Mille: Une des industries intellectuelles de Paris, la grand couture. Revue 
économique internationale, May, 1912. 

2 Bulletin des Soies et des Soieries, Noy. 10, 1900. 

3B. Mazille: Comment se crée la mode dans l'industrie de la soierie. Bulletin 
trimestriel de l’Association des auciens éléves de l’Ecole supérieure de Commerce de 
Lyon, March, 1908. 


758 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


general after the presentation of Chanteclair. We already had 
the “ Dame Blanche” fichus, and the Lutheran bonnet was popular 
after Les Huguenots was played. 

Any striking idea may inspire a fashion. Under Louis-Philippe 
“all the fashionable young men of the capital wanted their trousers 
plaited at the hips like those of the African chasseurs; they had their 
turbans and their Arab checias (skull caps) at their homes.” ? 
Trocadero ribbons became the rage as a souvenir of the voyage of the © 
Duke of Angouléme to Spain, and the Russo-Japanese War gave us 
the kimono. It is to the passion for sports that we owe the English 
styles, the success of the tailor-made costume, the fashion for furs and 
leather garments, and also that “war hat” attempted by some 
Americans. 

Literature also has been a great inspiration, as shown by the curious 
and interesting book of Louis Maigron on “ Romantisme et la Mode.” 
The essential characteristic of the romantist revolution was the re- 
turn to national tradition, the style of the Middle Ages, which forced 
itself quickly and in every direction, taking the place of the empire 
style. According to Mons. Maigron, “romanticism creeps from 
books into the daily life through social diversions.” The masquerade 
thus makes some pretensions, often justified, of reconstructing 
history ; old engravings are appealed to for aid in costuming. 

The works of Victor Hugo, especially Hernani, have had an in- 
fluence on fashion as great as pre-Raphaelism has to-day on gowns 
and hairdressing. The use of white muslins was the inspiration of 
Taglioni, as were the “ waves of the Danube” taffetas. The “Atala” 
collars and the “ Marie Stuart” hats were successively worn. The 
“)battlement ” hat was designed in part from a headdress looked 
upon as that of Jeanne d’Arc, and likewise the “ leg-of-mutton ” 
sleeve recalls the costume of the sixteenth century. 

There is a complete revolution in the work of gold- and silver- 
smiths. Jewelry is made in the shape of pointed arches with knights 
in steel armor, pages with plumed toques, helmets, grey hounds, 
coats of arms, escutcheons. A complete feudal arsenal is designed 
in chased work and enamels. In architecture the Gothic comes into 
full vogue, and it is constantly the romance styles which are most 
fashionable. 

The red waistcoat of Theophile Gautier had its imitators; the 
waistcoat was at one time the chief thought of young Frenchmen. 
It is all a program that one cultivates and lives up to. Men’s fash- 
ions extend to lace facings, braids, furs, Merovingian style of hair, 
and whiskers of an Assyrian king; the cravat is of a gloomy black.? 


1Louis Maigron: Le Romantisme et la mode. Champion, 1911. Cf. also O. Uzanne: 
Un siécle de modes féminines, et la francaise du siécle. H. Bouchot: Le luxe frangais: 
Challamel: Histoire de la mode. 

2L. Maigron, op. cit., passim. 


ECONOMIC ROLE OF FASHION—CLERGET. 759 


It is this individualism directing the present style, this instability, 
the changing at every season, which helps Paris in great measure to 
maintain its leading influence on fashion, and this is not of recent 
origin. Isabel of Bavaria, in 1891, and Anne of Brittany, in 1496, 
sent to the queens of England and Spain dolls dressed in the latest 
style. During the war of the succession in Spain the courts of Ver- 
sailles and St. James accorded safe conduct to the alabaster doll 
which accredited the newest fashions from the other side of the 
Channel.’ It is Paris that “decrees the sumptuary law of nations,” 
it is she that sells the models, and the best advertisement of a 
foreign modiste is to announce her “return from Paris.” One can 
understand that this advantage would be envied outside of France, 
and they have tried, especially in the United States, to wrest it from 
her. These attempts have not ceased. It can readily be seen that 
there is involved in this the question of a convenient center which 
is not found elsewhere. Copying styles is so very easy that a com- 
mittee of defense of Parisian fashions has been formed, which has 
brought about a closer connection between the release of models and 
the opening of the season, and there has been adopted a stamp of 
origin, furnished by the syndics of needlework. 

While we have spoken up to this point simply of clothing and 
hairdressing, we should not think that this is the limit of fashion’s 
domain. It controls conversation, the manner of walking, how to 
shake hands. Such a word as “épatant” (stunning) owes to fashion 
its recent admittance to the “ Dictionary of the Academy.” The 
general use of such a drink as tea, the abandonment of wine in cer- 
tain circles, vegetarianism, may all be regarded as fashions, likewise 
the adoption of some state of the mind which takes the lead at times, 
as sensitiveness or calmness. We have already spoken of architec- 
ture and furniture. The passion for traveling and for sports be- 
comes widespread; there is less taste for home; there is less desire 
for books and interior ornaments. 

The influence of fashion is reflected also on the sales of works of 
art. The great sales recently held in Paris have shown that there is 
a revival in favor of productions of the eighteenth century. In 
June, 1912, at a Doucet sale a pastel of “ Quentin de la Tour,” the 
portrait of “ Duval de ’Epinoy,” purchased in 1903 for 5,210 franes 
($1,042), brought 660,000 francs ($182,000) ; the “ Jardin de la ville 
d’Este,” by Fragonard, which sold for 700 frances ($140) in 1880, 
brought 21,300 francs ($4,226) ; and the “ Sacrifice au Minotaure,” by 
the same painter, for which 5,300 francs ($1,060) was paid in 1880, 
was held at 396,000 francs ($79,200). Such fluctuations, of which 
we could give many examples, are attributed by M. Paul Leroy- 


1V. du Bled. Les évolutions du luxe dans la Société polie. Revue Economique Inter- 
nationale, September, 1906. 


760 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 19138. 


Beaulieu to certain notions, among which fashion forms a large part; 
the personal satisfaction of connoisseurs, the desire for distinction, 
snobbishness, which is a grand master in fashionable life, the spon- 
taneous adaptation of art of the eighteenth century to conditions of 
contemporary life and the development of large fortunes. In the 
statistics of foreign commerce works of art show the greatest change; 
in the fiscal year 1911-12 the importation of that class into the 
United States rose to more than $36,000,000, an increase of 60 per 
cent over 1910-11. 

Other industries are also answerable to fashion—the fur trade, 
ornamental plumes, jewelry, toys, and artificial flowers. The style 
in furs changes every year, from the tippets to the stoles and scarfs 
of to-day, and the consumption of skins increases in enormous pro- 
portions. In 1848 there were sold in London at public auction 
225,000 muskrat skins, at a maximum price of 2 cents each; while in 
1910 sales reached 4,000,000 pieces, at a maximum price of 14 cents. 
Russian ermine, which in 1888 were valued at 15 copecks (11 cents), 
sold in 1910 for 4.30 roubles ($3.25); beautiful sable skins, which 
sold for 5 roubles ($3.75) in 1880, brought up to 800 roubles ($600) 
in 1910.? 

Artificial flowers, originating in China, now used more for hats 
and similar purposes than in decorating rooms, give employment in 
Paris alone to 10,000 women and 3,000 men, receiving $2,200,000 in 
wages, for a production valued at $6,700,000. The manufacture of 
toys is regulated almost exclusively by the current demand; it is 
enough to say that a toy is fashionable. The industrial arts peculiar 
to the colonies seem again to have come into favor after having 
been for a long time out of style. And it is to fashion that is due 
the present prosperity in false hair and perfumery trades. Each 
year 130,000 kilograms of hair are utilized in France, and the im- 
portations from China and Japan vary from year to year with 
change in style, from 8,000 to 16,000 kilograms. The fashion for 
rouge is as old as the desire of women to look beautiful; in very gen- 
eral use in Roman times, it revived with the Renaissance, when the 
habit spread even to the nuns. Madame de Sévigné wrote: “ Rouge 
may be regarded as the law and the prophets; it is all christianity.” 
Rice powder and “créme Simon” have no less success to-day than 
has the tinting of the hair. Finally, fashion is advantageous in the 
constantly increasing love for sports and travel and in the develop- 
ment of industries connected with these, particularly the hotel 
business. 

What are the economical results of fashion? In the industrial 
world, first of all, it seems to be a stimulant to production; but it is 


1fconomiste francais, June 22, 1912. * 
2 Les Echos de l’Exportation, Jan. 1, 1913. 


ECONOMIC ROLE OF FASHION—CLERGET. 761 


solely in objects to which it offers itself, for the estimates are not 
elastic—an increase in one article leads to retrenchment in another, 
and the demand is merely changed from one industry to another. 
Thus enormous fluctuations are shown each year in the silk indus- 
tries, on which the uncertainties of fashion are most particularly 
centered.t_ Ribbon is most affected, being much used, both on hats 
and clothes. It loses first one fashion, then another, and the evolution 
is tending rapidly toward the cheapest grades used so much for orna- 
ments and in the thousand little gewgaws of women. The situation 
in dress goods is hardly any brighter, following the alnage law, 
showing from this that the close-fitting costume continues to be the 
style. ‘“ Praised by some, condemned by others,” as the Figaro says, 
this fashion will leave in the history of textile industries the souvenir 
of an ill-omened influence. The quantity of material needed to make 
a costume has been reduced one-half or two-thirds, and, besides, it 
does away with undergarments and linings, which for many years 
represented a very heavy employment of tissues of plain silk. The 
inspector of silks at Lyons showed a registration of 7,590,445 kilo- 
grams of silk in 1911, as compared with 8,344,566 in 1910, a difference 
of 9.03 per cent. The two inspectors at Milan show still greater 
decreases of 15.60 and 9.68 per cent, respectively. An analogous 
reduction took place in the woolen goods industries. The French 
Chamber of Commerce of Montevideo complained last year of the 
effect of measurement inspection on the exportation of woolens, All 
the related industries of spinners and weavers were affected in the 
same degree, and the dyers, dressers, and stampers. 

As Mons, Maurice Deslandres has ingeniously expressed it, fashion 
not only displaces the products of one industry by those of another, 
but also impedes the latter industry by demanding quick changes in 
machinery; retards it until the last moment by some extensive 
changes in the work, and the trend is steadily toward low prices and 
inferior qualities which are not durable. The result is to raise the 
net cost by requiring the manufacturer to make earlier settlement for 
apparatus, and necessitating expenses for the setting up of new 
models.” 

From the commercial standpoint there is a tendency to an increase 
in prices because of manufacturers stocks unsold, and the hesitation 
of jobbers to lay up large supplies. The relations with customers are 
no longer easy, the latter delay their orders, are undecided about their 


1It is interesting to compare the fluctuations of the silk industry (as capricious as 
those of agricultural productions) with the regularity of other industrial products in- 
fluenced only by periodical crises, cf. the chart in our ‘‘ Manuel d’économie commerciale.” 
A. Colin, Paris. 

*Maurice Deslandres. La mode, ses conséquences économiques et sociales, Bulletin 
des ligues sociales d’acheteurs, vol. 1, 1912, pp. 25-37. 


762 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


choice, require more urging, and all the orders begin to accumulate 
during the last days preceding the opening of the season. 

In the agricultural world, fashion has produced transformations 
no less serious, some of them unfortunate. The abuse of ornamental 
feathers has brought about the destruction of all sorts of birds which 
had protected the crops against the ravages of various insects. It is 
to the democracy of fashion, as well as to its instability, that we must 
attribute the conditions in textile manufactures, where we find a 
reduction in the use of flax, an enormous increase in cotton, and the 
displacement of vegetable dyes by the more brilliant though less 
serviceable dyestuffs derived from coal tar. In the animal world 
certain species of fur animals are on the verge of extinction, and 
there should be either attempts at domestication, as in the case of 
the blue fox and the opossum, or hunting regulations by the creation 
of open districts with complete prohibition during a certain period. 
In Siberia a recent law suspends the hunting of the sable from the 
1st of February, 1918, to the 15th of October, 1916. Likewise an 
international agreement between England, Canada, Russia, Japan, 
and the United States prohibited May 11, 1911, the hunting of fur 
seals in the open sea of the North Pacific.’ 

The present democracy of fashion is the great social factor to be 
emphasized. It has encouraged a great consumption of products; 
a depreciation in quality and aanibes) it has induced a very great in- 
stability, which disconcerts both producers and buyers; manufac- 
turers must make the same classes of products for all markets; 
fashion is followed at the same time by all classes of society. The 
wheel turns quickly and ceaselessly. On the other hand, these rapid 
changes do not take place without a slack season for the workman, 
without quick fluctuations in so or without change of speciali- 
zation. 

“To follow the fashion” becomes not only a pastime, but even a 
duty ; “intellects are made frivolous thereby; those who pride them- 
selves in appearing elegant are obliged to make the clothing of 
themselves a veritable occupation and a study, which assuredly does 
not tend to elevate the mind, nor does it render them capable of 
great things.” ? 

To this moral and social evil an economic difficulty is also added. 
Fashion is a waste; “it has the privilege of casting things aside 
before they have lost their freshness; it multiplies consumption 


and condemns that which is still good, comfortable, and pretty for | 


something that is no better. Besides, it robs a State of that which it 


1On this subject see our work, L’exploitation rationelle du globe, 1 vol., Doin & Son, 
1912. 

2B. de Laveleye, quoted by E. Picard. Le luxe et les grandes fortunes. Revue 
Economique Internationale, July, 1905. 


ECONOMIC ROLE OF FASHION—CLERGET. 763 


consumes and that which it does not consume.”' Mons. Pierre Mille 
told recently in this Revue of patrons who spent as much as $60,000 
each year, others up to $16,000, and a still greater number up to 
$5,000. But it is mostly among the middle and laboring classes, 
whose means are more limited, that unreasonable expenditure in fol- 
lowing fashions is most harmful. 

These abuses, this tyranny of uniformity in nearly all outer mani- 
festations of life, leads notably to the banishment of provincial cos- 
tumes, the representatives of climate, products of local art, so full 
of interest from an historical standpoint, picturesque, stable, durable, 
which are handed down from generation to generation. Among these 
costumes of historic interest are the Caux cap recalling the steeple 
headdress of ladies of the fourteenth century; the little Nicaan hat 
reproducing the coiffure called “ Thessalanian” by the Greeks, and 
the antique Phrygian hat, still worn by the Arlesians. Although 
formerly there was variation according to place and uniformity as 
to the season, we now tend more and more toward a uniformity as 
to place and variation as to season. 

The abuses denounced, it would be useless to demand, on the con- 
trary, an immutability in complete opposition with the transforma- 
tions of all sorts which surround us. Tertullian in his treatise “ De 
pallio,” says that nothing is more natural than changing the cos- 
tume and that nature sets us an example in assuming varied forms. 
Human fancy thus asserts its supremacy over animals, obliged 
always to wear the same livery. Austere philosophers have under- 
stood perfectly the esthetic and social significance of fashion. Renan, 
writing on Marcus Aurelius, admits that “ woman in dressing herself 
well fulfills a duty; she practices an art, an exquisite art, in a sense 
the most charming of arts. * * * A woman’s toilet, with its re- 
finements, is a great art in its way. Ages and countries which know 
how to carry it out well are great ages, great countries.” 

The appearance of a new style of garment is the visible sign that 
a transformation is taking place in the intellect, customs, and busi- 
ness of a people. The rise of the Chinese Republic, for instance, led 
to doing away with plaited hair and to the adoption of the European 
costume. Taine wrote this profound sally: “ My decided opinion is 
that the greatest change in history was theadvent of trousers. * * * 
It marked the passage of Greek and Roman civilization to the 
modern. * * * Nothing is more difficult to alter than a universal 
and daily custom. In order to take away man’s clothes and dress 
him up again you must demolish and remodel him.”? It is also an 
equally philosophical conclusion which Mons. Louis Bourdeau gives 
in his interesting “ Histoire de ’habillement et de la parure”: “There 


EE VA De ee ee ee 
1J. B. Say, quoted by E. Picard, op. cit. 
2H, Taine. L’Italie et la vie italienne. Revue des Deux-Mondes, 1865. 


764 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913, 


where the same style of clothing is used for centuries, as among bar- 
barous peoples, one has the right to say that civilization remains sta- 
tionary. There, on the other hand, where, as in Europe, garments are 
subject to continual modifications, one may see evidence of great com- 
fort and rapid progress. * * * Far from being a custom of in- 
curable frivolity the changes of fashions mark a high civilization, 
subject to change because it is growing and because it has wide lati- 
tude to refine its ideal in proportion as its productions are varied.” + 
Again, it is necessary that that versatility and refinement be not 
turned to extravagance or to impropriety, compromising the reputa- 
tion for good taste, elegance, and distinction which the fashions of 
Paris enjoy throughout the entire world. 

What can we do for or against fashion? Can we direct it or can 
we prevent its abuse? Let us find out tirst the power of the law, 
religious or civil. Very early popes and councils strove in vain 
against the low-neck gown and the dresses “ terminating in the ser- 
pent’s tail.” Kings imitated them, Charlemagne setting the example, 
but sumptuary decrees have had no more effect than ordinances 
against dueling. Mons. Victor du Bled reports that Philippe le Bel 
was urged to promulgate some sumptuary laws by his wife, who, 
making her formal entrance at Bruges in 1301, saw a crowd of com- 
mon people so richly clothed that she cried out with vexation, “I 
thought myself the queen, and I see hundreds of them.” Charles IX 


proscribed hip pads of more than 5 feet, gold chains, pieces of jewelry _ 


with or without enamel. In 1567 he regulated the garments of each 
class, permitting silk only to princesses and duchesses, forbidding 
velvet. But these laws were intended very much more to limit for- 
eign importation and to encourage home industry than to regulate 
fashion.2, Seventy-two decrees prohibiting the use of India cloth 
were rendered from 1700 to 1760 and proved to be powerless against 
the rulings of fashion. In 1706 a certain French chamber of com- 
merce voted “that officers may have the power to arrest on the streets 
persons who are found clothed in this kind of goods, and they 
should be condemned to pay a large fine.” In 1912 another chamber 
of commerce voted for ministerial intervention against some noted 
dressmakers to check the use of clinging dresses, against which the 
American clergy and some members of the German medical corps 
preached without success. 

The intervention of manufacturers injured in their interests by 
reduction to the metric system or the abandoning of such and such 
an ornament is of no effect. A committee of propaganda, formed at 
Saint-Etienne with a view to reviving the fashion for fine qualities 

if. Bourdeau, op. cit., p. 195. 


2V. du Bled, op. cit. Cf. Dr. A. Velleman, Der Luxus in seinen Beziehungen zur 
Sozial-Oekonomie. Halle, 1898. 


EO ————————— a —" 


ECONOMIC ROLE OF FASHION—CLERGET. 765 


of ribbon, has produced no appreciable result. Those only have in- 
fluence upon fashion who make it and promote it, those who offer it 
and those who can refuse it—the tailor and the customer. The first 
is too much concerned in the changes of fashion to expect him to 
make any effort to restrain them; the second is quiet, provided that 
he be included. If fashion responds to an innate tendency of our 
nature, the fondness for change, the actual rapidity of this change 
is neither disastrous nor necessary, as the long use of the tailor-made 
costume shows. The last word shall be given to the social leagues 
of buyers and the leagues of consumers, because of the very interest- 
ing initiative taken by the former in favor of handmade lace with a 
view to reviving that valuable rural industry. After having brought 
about the assembling at Paris of an exposition of women’s work, they 
asked their members simply to require mention of the origin “ hand- 
made” or “ machine-made ” on the laces put on sale. 


THE WORK OF J. H. VAN’T HOFF. 


By Prof. G. Brunt, 
University of Padua, Italy. 


Jacob Henry van’t Hoff was born August 30, 1852, in Rotterdam, 
where his father was engaged until 1902 in the practice of medicine. 
His ancestors had for centuries held the positions of alderman and 
mayor of the little village of Groote Lind near Rotterdam. He de- 
scended, therefore, from one of the ancient families of those austere 
and sturdy Dutch burgesses which the paintings of so many artists 
portray, gathered in civic councils, in learned assemblies, and in com- 
panies armed for the defense of the fatherland. The external traits 
of this strong race were reproduced in his countenance, and in his 
character were found its best moral endowments. 

The beginnings of his scholastic career were modest; he attended 
the elementary schools and took his secondary school work in his 
native town. His parents seem not to have had great confidence 
in his future. It is certain, at all events, that at first they did not 
approve of his desire to devote himself to the study of pure science— 
the subject toward which he felt himself drawn. He was obliged to 
commence by registering in the Polytechnic School at Delft, where 
at the end of two years he took his final examinations and obtained 
the diploma of technologist. 

After having thus satisfied his family by securing a professional 
diploma, he finally obtained the permission he so much coveted, to 
devote himself to scientific study, and registered in 1871 at the Uni- 
versity of Leyden, the oldest and most famous center of education 
in the Netherlands. There he studied mathematics and physics, but 
devoted himself more especially to chemistry. In 1873 he went to 
Bonn, where he worked for some months in the laboratary of Kékulé, 
and did his first experimental work. [We shall see later what in- 
fluence his stay in Bonn was to have on the development of his 
ideas.] He remained for a shorter period in Paris, where he fre- 
quented Wurtz’s laboratory. [We shall soon see what a deep im- 
pression was made upon him rather by the works of Pasteur than by 
the ideas of Wurtz. ] 


1Translated, by permission of the editors, from Scientia, International Review of 
Scientific Synthesis, published by Messrs. Williams & Norgate, London, No. 3, 1911. 


767 


768 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


Returning to his native country, he took up his studies at Leyden 
again, and in September, 1874, published a brief paper in Dutch, 
in which he stated fully and succinctly all the essential portion of 
the stereochemical theory. This publication, the outcome of which 
we shall discuss later, preceded by two months a similar publication 
by Le Bel. The young man did not venture to present this work as a 
thesis for the directorate, but preferred to confine himself to a modest 
dissertation on cyanacetic and malonic acids, with which thesis he 
obtained his degree of doctor of philosophy December 22, 1874. 

The following year we find him in search of an occupation which 
should be suitable to his taste and, above all, would permit him to 
continue his chosen studies. His first attempt to obtain a modest 
position as professor in the technical school at Bréda was unsuccess- 
ful. Amusing, and at the same time touching, is the letter which the 
director of this school wrote to the minister of public instruction, 
describing to him this young man, with distraught air, with the ap- 
pearance of an inventor, entirely absorbed in his great visions and 
seeing only his atoms and their valences disposed in space; he con- 
cluded by saying that, according to his judgment and the unanimous 
opinion of the colleagues of the school, van’t Hoff was not the man 
for such a position. 

In 1876 van’t Hoff was finally made docent of the veterinary school 
of Utrecht, where he stayed but a little more than a year, being 
called as lecturer to the new university which the city of Amsterdam 
had just founded. He was not slow in gaining the esteem and con- 
sideration of his superiors, and as early as 1878 was made professor 
of chemistry, mineralogy, and geology. He occupied this position 
for 17 years; that is to say, until 1895. To this period, which is the 
most important of his scientific life, belong his great works on chemi- 
cal equilibrium and on the theory of solutions. It was the period of 
extraordinary growth of physical chemistry, and van’t Hoff was soon 
universally recognized as the most gifted representative and the best 
authority of the new school of which Ostwald was the unrivaled 
propagandist. 

His fame grew rapidly; in 1887 the University of Leipzig invited 
him to accept a chair, which he refused; in 1889, when scarcely 37 
years of age, he was made honorary member of the German Chemical 
Society, an honor aspired to by the greatest scientists. Finally, in 
1896, the University of Berlin called him in a specially honorable 
way; he was made honorary ordinary professor, without being placed 
under the obligation of teaching; the Academy of Sciences made 
him an active member, and furnished him the means to establish a 
laboratory for research. In this laboratory he devoted himself for 
10 years to the investigation of the conditions of formation of the 
saline deposits at Stassfurt, the first great attempt to apply the 


WORK OF VAN’T HOFF—BRUNI. 769 


physicochemical theories to the studies of geological phenomena. In 
the meantime, in 1901, the Academy of Sciences at Stockholm gave 
concrete form to the universal opinion of chemists by conferring on 
him the first Nobel prize for chemistry. 

In the autumn of 1906 there appeared the first symptoms of the 
terrible disease to which he was destined to succomb; after a sojourn 
in a sanatorium he apparently recovered * * * but a relapse soon 
followed, and on the 1st of March, 1908, his life ended at Steglitz, 
Berlin; a life which was too short, if one considers the number of 
years passed; simple, if one thinks of the tranquility of exterior 
events; great, as few others, if one reflects on the enormous amount 
of work which it represents. 

After thus broadly tracing the general biography of this great 
scientist, we may begin the examination of his life work. And this, 
with the exception of his first researches in organic chemistry, a few 
works of fragmentary character, occasional publications and resumés, 
may be divided into four main divisions: Stereochemistry, the studies 
of chemical equilibrium, the theory of dilute solutions, and investi- 
gation on the saline deposits of Stassfurt. The second and third of 
these chapters overlap in their chronological development and show 
numerous logical connections with each other. 

The creative period of the stereochemical theory is exceedingly 
short, lasting but three years, from 1874 to 1877. 

The Dutch paper of 1874 contains in its 14 pages all that is 
essential. The author points out first that all substances then 
known which, in a liquid or dissolved state, rotate the plane of 
polarized light, contain in their formulas at least one “ asymmetric” 
carbon atom—that is, a carbon atom combined with four atoms or 
groups differing from one another. In seeking the cause of this 
relation, he remarks that if one imagines the four valences of the 
carbon atom directed toward the vertices of a tetrahedron, of which 
the atom itself forms the center, the presence of such an asymmetric 
atom is the necessary and sufficient cause of the existence of two 
figures in space, of which one is the mirror image of the other; 
hence the presence of two isomers, one dextro-rotatory, the other levo- 
rotatory, and of one inactive compound resulting from the union of 
both, and capable, by separating, of forming them again. The ex- 
istence of such isomers and the possibility of separating them had 
been demonstrated for the first time by Pasteur, 10 years before, in 
the case of tartaric and racemic acids. 

In this respect the considerations developed two months later by 
Le Bel agree with those of the young Dutchman, except as to form. 
But on one point, the latter pushed them further; he foresaw that 
in unsaturated compounds in which two carbon atoms united by a 
double bond have their two other valences united with two other 

44863°—sMm 19183——49 


770 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


atoms or groups, differing from each other, two isomers in space may 
be formed which not being antipodes are not optically active; isomers 
of which we have examples in fumaric and maleic acids. 

Tf we wish to seek for the origin of the stereochemical conception 
in van’t Hoff’s mind, we must recognize first of all the preponderant 
influence which the doctrines of Kékulé had upon him, an influence 
which had been increased during his stay in Bonn. With his doc- 
trine of the valence and particularly of the tetravalence of carbon, 
with the development given to the theory of the structure which 
attained its apogee in the statement of the theory of the constitution 
of aromatic compounds, Kékulé had made of the University on the 
Rhine a center from which radiated new ideas on organic chemistry, 
and had grouped around him a crowd of brilliant pupils. 

A few years before, there had left Bonn for Italy a young Ger- 
man chemist, W. Koerner, who was to publish in the same year his 
classical researches on the determination of position of substituting 
atoms in aromatic substances—another brilliant extension of Kékulé’s 
theory. The coincidence is not without interest. The tetrahedral 
model of van’t Hoff was identical with that which Kékulé had 
already used in his demonstration. In each case Kékulé had given 
the model, but he lacked the confidence to use it in all the legitimate 
deductions and representations which one could obtain from it. 

Naturally the van’t Hoff innovation was much more radically revo- 
lutionary, since for the first time structural formulas were employed 
to indicate not only the order in which the atoms are linked among 
themselves by their valences, but also, necessarily, their manner of 
distribution in space. 

Pasteur, after having thoroughly studied the nature of these pe- 
culiar isomers, had already pointed out intuitively that the cause of 
this asymmetry must lie in a molecular asymmetry, since it does not 
disappear, as in quartz, with the disappearance of the crystalline 
form, but persists in the liquid or dissolved state. He had foreseen 
that the atoms must be disposed in their molecules so as to give two 
figures corresponding between themselves like the crystals, or, for 
example, like a right and left spiral. 

But Pasteur could not reach the complete solution of the problem 
for lack of a suitable model. Van’t Hoff was to succeed when he ap- 
plied the Kékulian model, and after having grasped at one careful 
glance the already abundant data, he saw like a flash that the cause 
which he sought was none other than the presence in all the optically 
active compounds of an asymmetric carbon atom. If one seeks for 
the cause of the differences between the ideas of van’t Hoff and of 
Le Bel and of the less complete character of the latter, it may readily 
be seen in the fact that the theories of valence and of structure had 
not yet found in France the reception and diffusion which they 
deserved. 


WORK OF VAN’T HOFF—BRUNI. Tit 


The speculations of van’t Hoff and Le Bel were received at first 
in silence and with general indifference. In 1875, when he found 
himself again face to face with difficulties in finding a position, the 
young Dutchman published a French translation of his first paper, 
under the title “ La chimie dans l’espace.” 

The new theory had to undergo its first test at a meeting of the 
Chemical Society of Paris in 1875, when van’t Hoff had presented an 
abridged account of his ideas. Berthelot, still a young man, but 
one whose eminent works in the various domains of chemistry had 
already made him a great authority, rose for the attack. He de- 
clared that, without wishing to refuse a priore the space formulas 
proposed by van’t Hoff and Le Bel, which had a certain advantage 
over the usual structural formulas in one plane, we could expect no 
result from the new theories, until we should learn how to recognize 
the vibrations of the atoms in the interior of the molecule. Later 
he raised other objections of a more positive character, for example, 
the existence of substances optically active without asymmetric car- 
bon atoms. Van’t Hoff, Le Bel, and other experimenters replied to 
these objections by demonstrating that the supposed contradictions 
came simply from errors of observation. 

Meanwhile an important step was taken with a view of making 
the new theories public. A German scientist, well known by his 
works on organic chemistry, Wislicenus, professor at Wurzburg, who 
some years before had recognized the insufficiency of structural for- 
mulas to explain certain cases of isomerism, became acquainted with 
the fundamental note of van’t Hoff. Being struck by it and com- 
prehending its great importance, he had his assistant, Hermann, 
make a German translation of it. This, supplied with a preface by 
himself, was published in 1877, under the title “ Die Lagerung der 
Atome in Raume.” This publication, which gave the widest notoriety 
to the theories of van’t Hoff, had as an immediate effect the arousing 
of new and violent controversy. Hermann Kolbe, already an old man 
and famous, one of the scientists who had contributed most to the 
experimental development of organic chemistry and one of the most 
influential chemists of his time, well known as a bitter critic and 
violent polemist, who saw in the structural theory an unjustified 
and dangerous misuse of hypotheses, published a paper entitled 
“Zeichen der Zeit,’ from which it is interesting to quote a few 
passages: 


I have already shown that the cause of the present decadence of chemical 
research in Germany lies in the lack of a solid general culture. I see one 
consequence of it in the reappearance of the weed of a natural philosophy, 
clever and brilliant in appearance, but in reality trivial and without meaning. 
It was driven out 50 years ago by exact research, but it has just been dis- 
covered again by a pseudoscientist, and like a courtesan, disguised 4 la mode and 
painted fresh, tries to introduce itself underhandedly into good society, to 
which it does not belong. 


T72 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


If this seems exaggerated one should read the writings of a Mr. van't 
Hoff, full of bad tricks of the imagination, which I should prefer to ignore 
if a distinguished chemist had not given him his patronage. This Dr. van’t 
Hoff, employed in a veterinary school at Utrecht, takes no pleasure, it appears, 
in exact chemical research. He has found it more comfortable to mount a 
veterinary Pegasus and to announce how, in his mad flight through a chemical 
Parnassus, the atoms have appeared to him to be scattered in space. 

Such a method of treating scientific questions which is not too far removed 
from a belief in sorcery and spirits is considered legitimate by a chemist like 
Wislicenus, whom we have always known as a serious scientist. By this act 
he excludes himself from the ranks of exact scientists and enters the category 
of those natural philosophers of evil fame whom only a subtle medium sep- 
arates henceforth from the spiritists. 

To this phillipic our scientist made a most sober and serious re- 
sponse. He prefaced to an article published in 1877 a few dignified 
but not unforceful words, and in October, 1878, as professor at Ams- 
terdam, he opened his course by reading from the text, Kolbe’s at- 
tack, taking occasion not to open a direct dispute but to defend se- 
renely the importance and legitimacy of the intervention of creative 
imagination in the exact sciences. 

But the address of Kolbe was no more efficacious than the objec- 
tions of Berthelot in barring the way of stereochemistry in its march 
toward success. Hans Landolt, the best authority in the domain of 
chemical optics and polarimetry, realized that the new views were in 
accord with the facts of experience; and Piutti was one of the first, 
with his researches into the stereo-isomeric asparagines, to bring new 
facts to the aid of the new theory. More important still were in- 
vestigations carried on in Germany after 1885. Besides those of 
Wislicenus on the stereo-isomerism of unsaturated compounds, we 
must remember those of A. von Baeyer on the stereo-isomerism of the 
hydroaromatic compounds and on the stereochemistry of cyclic com- 
pounds in general. 

But the new doctrine obtained its greatest triumph when Emil 
Fischer, using it as a foundation, was able to solve for the first time 
the great problem of the composition of sugars. This impenetrable 
forest, which had defied until then the efforts of chemists, became 
suddenly light when an experimenter of such exceptional value held 
in his hand the thread of Ariadne, which alone could guide him to- 
ward the goal. 

The succeeding history is only a succession of new conquests. Y. 
Meyer and Hantzsch and Werner have shown that in the unsaturated 
nitrogen compounds like oximes, there could occur isomers of the cis 
and trans types; it is thus that the stereochemistry of nitrogen came 
into existence. Still more recent researches, among which we must 
mention first those of Pope, have demonstrated that when an atom 
of any tetravalent element whatever becomes asymmetric, this causes 
the appearance of optical activity and the existence of two stereo- 


WORK OF VAN’T HOFF—BRUNI. V3 


isomers. We have thus optically active compounds containing an 
asymmetric atom of sulphur, selenium, silicon, tin, and lead. Even 
pentavalent atoms like those of nitrogen and phosphorus may give 
rise to the formation of stereo-isomers, as Le Bel was the first to 
show. 

To-day, after a lapse of 37 years, we can see that few theories have 
been able to achieve such triumphs. There does not exist to-day a 
single well-established fact which had not been anticipated, at least 
in germ, in the memoir of 1874. It would not be out of place to add 
here a few words with the purpose of examining more closely the 
intrinsic merit and amount of originality in the work of van’t Hoff 
and Le Bel, for it is not unusual to read or to hear rather unsatis- 
factory statements relative to them. It is said sometimes that the 
merit of the Dutch scientist consisted in having imagined and intro- 
duced the tetrahedral model or in having first had the conception 
of the spacial distribution of atoms in the molecule. Nothing is more 
erroneous, or at least more superficial, for in this connection van’t 
Hoff and Le Bel had several predecessors. The tetrahedal model 
was a necessary consequence of the conception of Kékulé, who had 
used it himself in its present form without, it is true, giving it the 
wide application which we give it to-day. And, as we have already 
said, Wislicenus had affirmed in a general way the necessity of having 
recourse to spacial configurations to explain certain isomerides. 
Earlier still, in 1869, Paterno had proposed to use for this purpose 
precisely the tetrahedal arrangement. It is not, then, in this that 
the merit of van’t Hoff lies, but rather in the fact that he was the 
first to conceive the brilliant idea of the significance of the asym- 
metric carbon atom, and, also, after attentive and rigorous examina- 
tion of all the facts already known, gave to the theory its definite 
form, so that one may say that it sprang, like the classic Minerva, 
already armed from the brain of Jupiter. 

But from 1877 on van’t Hoff no longer took a direct and creative 
part in the further development of the doctrine which he estab- 
lished. He nevertheless followed it always with an attentive eye 
and marked its progress in the successive editions of his books, 
among which we shall mention particularly “ Dix années dans Vhis- 
toire d’une théorie,” which offers a fine example of how to triumph 
with modesty. 

But it is time to return to the year 1877; that is, to the moment 
when our young hero took up his work at the University of Amster- 
dam. He had made his début three years before. He was only 25 
years of age and had already established a theory which was suflicient 
to pass his name on to history. All the immense field of chemistry 
stretched before him; his eye could not fail to discern in it new paths 
which were to lead him to still more brilliant triumphs. 


774 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


The scientific production of van’t Hoff underwent at this time 
a period of arrest, due, perhaps, to the loss of time that the necessity 
of adapting himself to new conditions of life and work imposed on 
him, but certainly for the greater part to the intellectual need of 
concentrating and orienting himself, before starting out again. 
However that may be, it is certain that during a period of seven 
years, from 1878 to 1884, he published no original papers worthy of 
engaging our attention. He did publish, however, a very interest- 
ing book, “Ansichten tiber die organische Chemie,” now out of print 
and almost completely unknown, but which has considerable im- 
portance for one who wishes to follow the evolution of his scientific 
thought. He described this evolution himself in an address given 
in Berlin in 1892, which we shall have occasion to mention again 
more than once. 

He pointed out in this the fact that even his first works on the 
asymmetric carbon atom must be considered, from one standpoint at 
least, as an attempt to contribute to the solution of a problem which 
had seemed to him from the first and which is in reality the funda- 
mental problem of general chemistry—to discover the relations be- 
tween the chemical constitution of substances and their physical 
properties and general behavior. 

This problem he set himself to treating in a more general and 
systematic way in the book we have just mentioned, and then there 
appeared to him suddenly the great gap which made impossible the 
rational execution of his vast project; that is, the gap resulting from 
the almost exclusively qualitative character of the data of organic 
chemistry, as far as concerns the mechanism of the reactions * * *. 

One single branch was developed quantitatively, that of thermo- 
chemistry; but at bottom the mass of data collected had not led to 
the great results that had been hoped, and there had been manifested 
in this field tendencies which were theoretically not rigorous. Besides 
this there were but few serial relations regarding particular prop- 
erties, one of the most abundant sources of illusive theories and con- 
sequent deceptions; and, a much more promising nucleus, some spo- 
radic instances of quantitative investigations as to the velocity of re- 
actions and chemical equilibriums. 

Such appeared to van’t Hoff the most immediate and the most 
important goal—to fill up the great gap and try to fuse into one body 
of knowledge the few and scattered ideas which were possessed up to 
that time. It was with this intention that he quickly set himself 
to work, theoretically as well as experimentally. The first results 
of his researches were not put forth in simple detached monographs, 
but collected in a harmonious and comprehensive manner in the form 
of a book entitled “ Etudes de dynamique chimique,” which saw the 


WORK OF VAN’T HOFF—BRUNI. V75 


light in 1884. This book was filled with the spirit which henceforth 
was to inspire all the productions of van’t Hoff. 

The author attempted in it to apply, so far as possible, mathe- 
matical methods, and, above all, the principles of thermodynamics, 
to the study of chemical phenomena. The idea in itself was not new; 
20 years before that Clausius had pointed out the possible application 
of these principles, especially of the second, but he had given no 
concrete examples of it. It is true there was also in existence the 
work of Willard Gibbs, but it was still lying like a. colossal block of 
granite buried in the proceedings of an obscure American academy, 
ignored by scientists, certainly by all chemists. The only attempts 
of any importance at its application were those of Horstmann and 
Peslin and Moutier to the phenomena of dissociation. 

The work of van’t Hoff was much more considerable and sys- 
tematic, and since the author, like a true chemist, carries abreast 
theoretical study and experimental verification, this work exercised 
a preponderant influence by making known to chemists the methods 
and principles of this new branch of science. 

He studied principally the velocity of reactions, selecting the most 
varied types of changes, reducing to order their laws, and seeking to 
discover in what measure the methods of chemical kinetics are ap- 
plicable to the determination of the order of the reactions. He 
invented the most ingenious methods to discover general laws when 
the latter are concealed by disturbing secondary reactions, which he 
eliminated in both experiment and calculation. He finally studied 
the variations which the velocity of reaction undergoes under the 
influence of the temperature. 

From there he passes to the consideration of chemical equilibrium, 
viewed as the result of two inverse processes, and concerns himself 
first of all with homogeneous equilibriums in gases or solutions. He 
gives special attention to heterogeneous equilibriums and more espe- 
cially to those which he calls condensed systems—that is, systems in 
which no bodies of variable composition, such as gases or solutions, 
intervene. He recognizes that in these cases, instead of having a 
continual displacement of the equilibrium, one has a transition tem- 
perature such that one of the systems is stable above this point, the 
other below. The transition temperature had been known for a long 
time in the polymorphic modifications of one and the same substance, 
as in those of rhombic and monoclinic sulphur; but the author 
generalizes this concept, and shows that one can extend it to the 
reciprocal transformation of chemical isomers, to the dehydration of 
hydrated salts, to the formation of decomposition of double salts, ete. 

Discussing, then, the displacement of equilibrium which is pro- 
duced by variations of temperature, he announces for the first time 


/ 


776 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


the before-mentioned principle of mobile equilibrium, which he for- 
mulates thus: “All equilibrium between two different states of matter 
is displaced in consequence of the lowering of temperature toward 
the system the formation of which develops heat.” It is known 
that this principle a little later was generalized by Le Chatelier, 
who extended it not only to thermic variations, but to all altera- 
tions of external and internal conditions of equilibrium (pressure, 
electric state, concentration, etc.). He writes, therefore, thus: 
“ Every external action impresses on a body or on a system a change, 
the direction of which is such that the resistance offered by the body 
or by the system to the external action is increased.” This principle 
preserves its importance even beside the second principle of thermo- 
dynamics, for although it authorizes only qualitative conclusions, it 
may no less be used with success when it is a question of determining 
the direction in which a certain process will take place, and especially 
in the cases where it is not possible to bring the problem to the 
mathematical form of the equation of Clapeyron or to other analo- 
gous formulations of the second principle. It can at the same time, 
thanks to its simple and general form, be easily remembered, since it 
implies the idea of a sort of faculty of accommodation to exterior 
actions inherent in matter. 

Van’t Hoff announced this principle, as we have said before, only 
for thermal variations, but to attempt, for this reason, to detract 
from his merit, as certain authors do, appears to us profoundly un- 
just, for not to mention his indisputable priority, one must not forget 
that the case treated by him is much the most important for chem- 
istry. He succeeds thus in settling a question which had been engag- 
ing chemists for a long time, since the problem concerning the direc- 
tion toward which a recreation moves is, it will be admitted, of 
fundamental importance. 

It is known that Thomsen had, several years before, announced a 
rule on which Berthelot wanted later to confer the dignity of a natu- 
ral law—the principle of maximum work, according to which, of 
all possible reactions, those might be produced spontaneously and 
without intervention of foreign energies, the production of which 
is accompanied by the greatest development of heat. 

Now this rule, which is verified in practice for most of the ordi- 
nary reactions of chemistry, is found at fault in different well-stud- 
ied cases of chemical reactions strictly speaking and in entire series 
of processes, like the reversible processes. While Thomsen recog- 
nized the empirical character of his rule, Berthelot sought on the con- 
trary to save his principle by the aid of a series of ingenious reason- 
ings based on the ambiguity which is attached to the use of vague 
expressions, such as “to be produced spontaneously ” and “ without 
the intervention of external energy.” But it was labor lost, so that 


WORK OF VAN’T HOFF—BRUNI. ThE 


Duhem pitilessly remarked, one must in order to save this principle 
admit also, to the ranks of external energy, the heat absorbed in 
endothermic processes. The principle in question would amount, 
then, to the following statement: “ Every process which does not ab- 
sorb heat develops it”; that is, in order to remain true, it must 
“vanish into a ridiculous tautology.” 

Now, the principle of van’t Hoff gives us the key to these contra- 
dictions; since a lowering of temperature favors the processes whose 
accomplishment is accompanied by a development of heat, it is the 
exothermic reactions which must be produced by preference at the 
low temperatures. And as the ordinary conditions of temperature 
of our surroundings and of common chemical operations represent 
zones sufficiently low in the complete scale of possible temperatures, 
it is natural that the rule of Thomsen should be verified in them, 
with a first approximation. Berthelot’s principle would become rig- 
orously true only at absolute zero. But to the high temperatures 
correspond principally the endothermic processes, and chemists living 
at a temperature of 3,000 degrees would sooner formulate a principle 
of minimum work * * *, 

From this time on the work of van’t Hoff is divided into two 
branches. While, following, as he will of course do, in addition, all 
the rest of his life the experimental research of heterogeneous equilib- 
riums, and particularly of condensed systems, he devotes the best of 
his activity in the field of theory to the study of another fundamental 
problem—the theory of dilute solutions and the investigation of the 
molecular state of dissolved substances. 

The theory of solutions, in its general lines at least, is now so well 
known that it would be superfluous to examine it here, but it may 
be interesting to consider its genesis. It would not be difficult to fol- 
low its course through the work of our scientist; but he has himself 
taken pains to make a clear exposition of it in a discourse delivered 
before the Chemical Society of Berlin in 1890: “ Wie die Theorie 
der Lésungen entstand.” One must seek its origin in the “ Etudes” 
above referred to. He tries to find out the affinity which keeps water 
in solutions and in hydrated salts, and as Mitscherlich had previously 
done, he thought of founding a measure of it in the diminution of the 
vapor tension of these systems as compared with pure water; but the 
absolute value of these differences seems to him too slight in compari- 
son with the strength which he felt even the smallest chemical forces 
shall have. He then asks himself if this attraction of water can not 
be measured in a more direct manner. With this question on his lips, 
as he himself relates, he comes out of the laboratory one day and 
meets his colleague de Vries. The latter, who was then busy with 
osmotic experiments, puts him in touch with the classic researches of 
Pfeffer on the direct measurement of osmotic pressure. And there 


778 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


was found the link which he needed. He considers first the process 
of distillation of water vapor, which goes from pure water toward a 
solution, owing to the lesser tensions of the latter; he then examines 
the passage of water which goes through semipermeable membranes 
from the pure solvent toward a solution, owing to osmotic pressure; 
comparing the two phenomena with each other, he recognizes their 
parallelism. 

But that is not enough. He had applied to equilibrium in gases 
one of his equations which is at bottom only the result of a com- 
bination of Clapeyron’s equation and the law of the gaseous state, 
and wished to find out if this equation was equally applicable to solu- 
tions. He observes now that by means of semipermeable walls, and 
by substituting osmotic pressure for gaseous, it is possible for him to 
reproduce for solutions the cycles and the reversible modifications 
which have led him to deduce the equation for gases. 

There results the necessary consequence that the laws of gases must 
also hold for osmotic pressure. He verifies the existing data and 
finds that the laws of Boyle and Gay-Lussac are in fact confirmed by 
the measurements of Pfeffer, and that consequently the principle of 
Avagadro must be applicable. Isotonic solutions must be equi- 
molecular. And since the law of the gaseous state is applicable to 
solution, he calculates, according to the measurements of Pfeffer, the 
value of the constant #, and to his great surprise finds that the 
numerical value of this is with great approximation equal to that 
obtained for gases; the gaseous pressure and osmotic pressure exer- 
cised by a given quantity of dilute substance under a definite volume 
are equal. 

From this moment the understanding is complete; the analogy 
between the gaseous state and that of dilute solutions is established. 
Van’t Hoff is not slow in making clear the relations which connect 
the osmotic pressure with the diminution of tension of vapor, with 
the elevation of the boiling point and the lowering of the freezing 
point of solutions. Thus, he includes in the law set forth above the 
empirical rules already worked out by Raoult. It is thus that the 
direct measurement of osmotic pressure and indirect measurement, 
such as tensimetric, ebullioscopic, and cryoscopic determinations, 
which are much more exact and easier to carry out, lead to a deter- 
mination of the molecular size of the substances dissolved. Our 
knowledge of the molecular state of bodies, limited at first to sub- 
stances obtainable in gaseous form, is thus found extended to all 
soluble substances. What a revolution this extension produced in all 
domains of chemistry and allied sciences is so well known that it 
need not be dwelt upon. 

This theory was set forth for the first time in its entirety in three 
memoirs presented simultaneously on October 14, 1885, to the Royal 


WORK OF VAN’T HOFF—BRUNI. 7179 


Academy of Sciences of Stockholm and published in the proceedings 
of that academy the following year (1886). In these memoirs there 
is a rather notable limitation, namely, that all the aqueous solutions 
of salts, acids, and strong bases are exceptions, in the sense that they 
give too strong osmotic pressures. So van’t Hoff was obliged to intro- 
duce into the equations which deal with them a coefficient ¢ greater 
than (figure) 7. This apparent exception was soon explained by a 
young Swedish physicist, Svante Arrhenius, who, three years before, 
had studied with great success the electric conductivity of solu- 
tions; since the anomaly of which we first spoke is manifested in 
solutions which possess electrolytic conductivity and since coeteris 
paribus it is the more pronounced the greater this conductivity, he 
supposes that the electrolytes are, at the moment of solution, largely 
separated into their ions. 

It is thus that there originated the theory of electrolytic dissocia- 
tion, which was inseparably connected from the first with that of 
solutions, the struggles and triumphs of which it shared. 

Opposition could not be slow in developing. In fact the storm 
of astonished indignation which soon after broke out in almost the 
entire chemical world, was directed less against the theory of van’t 
Hoff than against that of Arrhenius, which seemed to be attempting 
to overturn the most deep-rooted ideas; but objections to the first 
were not lacking, especially in England. While the greater number 
of French scientists shut themselves up in an opposition based on 
almost disdainful indifference, a group of chemists and of English 
physicists, with Pickering, Armstrong, and Fitzgerald at their head, 
partisans of the theory of hydrates, opened a real campaign against 
the new ideas. Better inspired, however, they did not seek to avoid 
discussion, but brought about a veritable war of words. 

Few public discussions will remain as memorable and as interesting 
in the history of science as that which took place in 1890 at the meet- 
ings of the British Association at Leeds when the three greatest rep- 
resentatives of the new movement, van’t Hoff, Arrhenius, and Ost- 
wald, took part by express invitation. 

These are the terms in which Ostwald speaks of this tournament: 

I do not think I am wronging our hosts in supposing that the invitation had 
been given first of all with the friendly intention of persuading us that we were 
in error and of sending us back home again after a good lesson. And during 
the first days our adversaries alone held the floor, so that one might have 
thought up to a certain point that we were already scientifically dead. But 
when, after long and lively personal discussions, the representatives of the 
modern ideas finally had a chance to speak, even at the public sessions, the ap- 
pearance of things was not slow in changing, and we were able to separate 
from our hosts in amiable fashion and not without triumph. 

The ideas of our champions met a more cordial reception from Sir 
Oliver Lodge; and in the English field itself they found an influen- 


780 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


tial ally in the person of Sir William Ramsay, their contemporary, 
who was already known through important studies, though he had 
not yet given all he was to give in publications, which since have 
made his name so universally famous. 

From this moment the success of the new school was rapid and tri- 
umphant, the opposition which from all sides had been made against 
it was soon almost completely appeased; to be sure it did not en- 
tirely disappear, but it was only whispered, rather than expressed 
openly and supported by definite arguments. 

The new theories were soon introduced even into elementary trea- 
tises, and now they have penetrated and transformed all branches of 
chemistry. 

Discussions on the theories of van’t Hoff have, however, been again 
renewed during recent years, both from theoretic and experimental 
points of view. An American physical chemist, Kahlenberg, after 
having carried out some measurements of osmotic pressure, claims to 
have arrived at the conclusion that the theory of van’t Hoff is insup- 
portable. But so radical a conclusion is little in accord with the 
modest experimental data on which it is based, data which, besides, 
have been contradicted by other writers, among them Cohen, one of 
the first pupils of van’t Hoff. Another American, Morse, has shown 
in a series of much more exact and thorough experimental works 
that osmotic pressure follows the laws of van’t Hoff up to a quite 
high degree of concentration. Scarpa has confirmed the fact that its 
variations with temperature follow the law of Gay-Lussac. 

Other chemists and physicists who have not thoroughly studied 
the work of the master or who are acquainted with it only at second 
hand have attempted to criticize the ideas of van’t Hoff concerning 
the mechanism of osmotic pressure. But that is lke fighting wind- 
mills. It is true that van’t Hoff has sometimes made allusion to a 
kinetic conception of solutions the parallelism of which with gases 
he had shown; but although he has had recourse to this conception 
in didactic exposition, he never used it to deduce his laws. Indeed, 
he has always brought out the fact that the mechanism of osmotic 
pressure and the manner of action of the semipermeable wall have 
no influence on the deduction and the development of the theory. 

The truth is that the theory of dilute solutions (many forget this 
adjective on which van’t Hoff had always laid stress) represents 
a limit law, like many other great natural laws, the value of which 
no one has ever, on that account, denied. The truth is, also, that 
the perfect semipermeable membrane is an ideal object impossible 
* to attain and even now extremely difficult to approach. 

But even if this membrane were a pure abstraction the theory of 
it would be none the less true, since all the laws of evaporation, 


WORK OF VAN’T HOFF—BRUNI. 781 


ebullition, and freezing of solutions—laws which are the necessary 
consequence of this theory—have been and still are to-day verified 
with the necessary accuracy. ‘The thousands and thousands of 
ebulliscopic and, above all, cryoscopic determinations which have 
been and are daily being made in laboratories represent so many 
confirmations and place the theory on so solid a foundation, that no 
critic, however keen he may be, will be able to shake it. 

It can not be denied that our ideas on the nature of solutions— 
of concentrated solutions in particular—and on the state of the dis- 
solved substances have taken a new direction in the last few years 
and are tending to-day to return to a theory of hydrates or, in 
general, of solvates; that is, to admit the existence of combination 
of the molecules of the solvent with the molecules of the dissolved 
ions. But there is nothing in that which would conflict with the 
theory of van’t Hoff; indeed, it is strong partisans of the latter who 
have inaugurated the new movement. 

Tn this respect, again, the theory of van’t Hoff is a limit theory; 
it corresponds to the purely physical conception of the solution in 
which the solvent has no other function than that of diluting, of 
separating from one another, the molecules of the substance dissolved ; 
reality differs more or less from this scheme. The deviations have 
an insignificant effect only in the case of very dilute solutions and of 
especially indifferent solvents; in default of these circumstances the 
deviations cease to be negligible. 

It often happens in the history of science that at a certain time 
two theories seem absolutely opposed to each other; one of them 
emerges from the struggle victorious. In the course of time, how- 
ever, it is perceived that the contradiction was not by any means as 
necessary as had been believed at first, but that each of the two theo- 
ries represented an extreme and too simple solution of the problem, 
and that the vanquished theory itself contained germs of truth, sus- 
ceptible of development and adaptation. 

As Walden remarked, one might have believed at Leeds 20 years 
ago that a chemical theory of hydrates was irreconcilably opposed 
to a physical theory of solutions; to-day Pickering can have the sat- 
isfaction of seeing rejuvenated his idea of combinations with the 
solvent; but far from appearing as a negation, this idea appears 
rather as a useful extension of the views of van’t Hoff. The credit 
for having propagated this new movement belongs to Ciamician, 
who, as early as 1891, proposed admitting the formation of such 
solvates to explain electrolytic dissociation. 

Permit me finally to draw your attention to the influence that the 
most recent study on the Brownian movement and on the nature of 
colloids has exercised on the questions that we are discussing. 
These brilliant researches have established the continuous passage 


7182 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


of coarse dispersions into true solutions in the strictest sense, and 
have given for the first time a plausible demonstration of the real 
existence of molecules, and thence of the kinetic nature of gaseous 
and osmotic pressures. 

But let us return to our subject. In 1890 van’t Hoff published a 
very interesting extension of his theory. He showed that it can be 
applied equally to the solid homogeneous mixtures of the nature of 
isomorphous mixed crystals, and founded thus the theory of solid 
solutions to the development of which the writer can congratulate 
himself on having contributed. 

In the further development of the theory of solutions by experi- 
mental studies, van’t Hoff took no more part, confining himself to 
making it public with the aid of recapitulations and explanatory arti- 
cles and of conferences. He did not, however, abandon experimental 
work, which he followed with untiring assiduity, though he reserved 
this side of his activity for the other group of questions treated in 
his “ Etudes de dynamique chimique,” for heterogeneous equilibri- 
ums and condensed systems. 

This domain had already been treated, particularly as to the phe- 
nomena of dissociation, by a brilliant French school which began 
with St. Claire Deville and ended with Le Chatelier, and another 
Dutch school, headed by Bakhuis Roozeboom, starting with only 
slightly different ideas, began to work in the same direction. 

Van’t Hoff and his pupils busied themselves first of all with the 
conditions of formation and of decomposition of double salts in 
aqueous solutions by devoting their attention on the one hand to 
compounds such as Astrakanite and Carnallite, which are minerals 
found in nature, and on the other hand to the racemates, thus again 
studying stereochemical questions. The results have been collected 
in a little book entitled “ Vorlesungen tiber Bildung und Spaltung 
der Doppelsalze,” published in 1897, one of the least known books of 
our scientist, because of the nature of the subject, which, although of 
great importance, is of such an abstruse character that it can be 
treated only in a somewhat dry fashion. 

This group of works covers the decade from 1886 to 1895, the 
second period of van’t Hoff’s stay in Amsterdam. 

We now come to the Berlin period of his activity, devoted entirely 
to the application of principles and methods previously discovered, 
to the investigation of the conditions of formation of oceanic de- 
posits and particularly of the famous deposits of Stassfurt. In this 
work, which was the first, and remains the greatest, attempt to apply 
- physical chemistry to the problems of geology and to transform the 
latter, so far as possible, into an experimental science, he had 
Wilhelm Meyerhoffer as a constant collaborator for 10 years, until 
his untimely death, in 1906, at the early age of 42 years. 


WORK OF VAN’T HOFF—BRUNI. 783 


He was no ordinary collaborator; when, in 1896, he became asso- 
ciated with the master in the founding of the little private laboratory 
of Hollandstrasse he had already written, among others, a little book 
on the phase rule, which is still one of the best on this question, and 
had already carried out very important experimental work on the 
affinities of reciprocal pairs of salts, a subject which for problems 
that he was treating was of the greatest importance. In theoretic 
questions he was an absolutely independent and original thinker 
and not always in accord with the master. 

* * * The mother idea of the common work belongs in great 
part to Meyerhoffer, as van’t Hoff has always openly admitted. In 
his work on reciprocal salt pairs, Meyerhoffer had expressed in 1895 
the opinion that “the formation of the saline deposits of Stassfurt, 
Wielicza, and other places, inasmuch as they are of marine origin, 
can not be explained in a satisfactory manner until one has submitted 
to a systematic research the solubility and the equilibric connections 
which occur among salts which are found in the water of the sea.” 

Further, in 1889, in a rectoral discourse at the University of Ley- 
den, van Bemmelen made allusion to the opportunity of applying 
the methods in question to the solution of geologic problems. Can we 
say on that account that van’t Hoff brought to this question no origi- 
nal contribution? Nothing would be more absurd. In 1887, before 
the work of Meyerhoffer and the allusion of van Bemmelen, he had 
established the conditions of formation of different salts existing in 
the layers of oceanic origin, such as the astrakanite, the leonite, and 
the schénite, and the method of research which has been used to clear 
up the question is no other than that which he introduced. Meyer- 
hoffer himself was inspired by his earlier works and had carried out 
in his laboratory his inaugural work. 

The investigation lasted 10 years, and is set forth in 51 separate 

. papers, which were all published between 1897 and 1906 in the Pro- 
ceedings of the Academy of Sciences at Berlin. We should be car- 
ried too far if we tried to give an idea of them, even a brief one. It 
is known that the deposits at Stassfurt, which are considered as 
having been preduced by the evaporation of an inland sea, are com- 
posed essentially of chlorides, sulphates, and borates of sodium, potas- 
sium, magnesium, and calcium, and of all their possible double salts. 
It was a question of determining the order in which they were depos- 
ited, the possible interrelations of minerals (what is called paragene- 
sis), the limits of temperature and of concentration in which the dif- 
ferent separations and the various types of paragenesis could take 
place. In order to solve so complicated a problem, they worked by 
preference, in determining the solubility at different temperatures, 
first on pairs of salts, then on all the possible complex systems; to 


784 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


establish the different temperatures of transformation they used 
ordinary tensimetric and dilatometric methods. 

The problem may be considered to-day completely solved, at least 
so far as its theoretic side is concerned. Moreover, the results agree 
on almost all points with those obtained by mineralogists and 
those in practical work; some of the new minerals, one of which 
bears the name of vanthoffite, at first unknown and prepared syn- 
thetically, have been since found in nature as a result of the sugges- 
tions given. The importance of these studies, even from the practical 
point of view, has been recognized by practical men and by the 
German government. A committee was in fact established, in 1908, 
charged with making a detailed study of the deposits of Stassfurt, 
with reference to their application, but based principally on the 
work of van’t Hoff..* * * 

We have come now to the end of this brief review of the life of 
the master and of the different phases of his scientific work. But 
our purpose would not be fully attained if we did not turn back 
for a resurvey of the entire field to see his figure as a man and a 
scientist as it was in reality. 

As I have already said, he reproduced in his features the Dutch 
type, he had a height slightly above the medium, and in his manner 
of dressing and of speaking, as well as in familiar conversation, 
he appeared as he was—modest; only the gentle but keen and pene- 
trating eye betrayed at times the exceptional man that stood 
before one. 

As a man he was not one of those who weaken the splendor of 
their genius by crudities and extravagances of character; his real 
goodness, his serene gentleness, his modesty, even reaching almost 
to ingenuousness, have brought him as many affectionate friends 
as his work procured him admirers. 

He had as many and as high academic and scientific honors as a* 
man could wish; of ambitions of another kind he did not possess the 
slightest trace; his life ran tranquilly in the bosom of his family, 
consisting of his wife, whom he had married while she was very 
young, two daughters, and two sons. He was a complete stranger: to 
the spirit of domination and intrigue, and for this reason he never 
had to suffer any of those jealousies and envies so frequent even in 
the academic world. No superiority has ever been recognized so 
tacitly and unresistingly as his, which he never made any one feel, 
whoever it was. 

He was extremely reserved when it was a question of expressing 
opinions on things, and particularly on men; and it was only after a 
long period of intimacy that one could hear him pronounce explicit 
judgments, especially if they were not favorable. 


WORK OF VAN’T HOFF—BRUNI. 785 


His general culture was certainly very wide, particularly in the 
scientific domain. He appreciated arts and letters and attached to 
them great importance, even when taking the point of view of 
pure science; that is what his inaugural address (as we have already 
mentioned) teaches us, about the imagination in the exact sciencess 
we learn in it also that one of his favorite subjects for reading was 
the lives of great scientists, which he would devour in great quanti- 
ties until he could cite more than 200 of them. 

As to his philosophic and religious ideas, we know that as a young 
man he was admirer and partisan of the positive philosophy of Aug. 
Comte; but his opinions have never been, so far as I know, the object 
of exterior manifestation; so much the more from several expressions 
in a necrology of Roozeboom, in which he speaks, though in respect- 
ful terms, of the religious fanaticism of the latter and of the desire 
which he expressed of being cremated; so much the more, I say, can 
one conclude from these expresions that he remained, to the end of 
his life, faithful to his first ideas on these questions. 

He had not the qualities of a brilliant and popular orator and, a 
stranger to every sort of dilettanteism, he had never yielded to the 
desire to appear attractive; but his lectures of a general and recapitn- 
latory character are read none the less willingly and with profit be- 
cause of the clearness and richness of their ideas, although they are 
not always easy reading. In some necrologies—for example, in 
those of Meyerhoffer and Roozeboom—he has given free course td 
sentiment, and succeeds often in finding efficacious and moving 
expressions. 

Just as he was not an orator for large audiences, so he was not 
made for elementary teaching; he said so himself, in a lecture, and 
it was to rid himself of this obligation, for him a sacrifice, that he 
decided to accept the situation which had been made for him in Ber- 
lin. He gave here regularly a single course of one hour a week on 
selected branches of physical chemistry, and from this course, which 
was delivered to limited audiences, came his book, “ Lessons on theo- 
retical and physical chemistry,” which had great success, thanks to 
the original and completely personal manner in which the subject 
was developed. 

If the position of professor in the broad sense of the word was 
often burdensome to him, he was always gratified with his réle of 
master to the young students, already mature, who worked with him 
in his researches. 

As he never had large laboratories, he was never surrounded by 
very many pupils; but some of them have succeeded in making 
for themselves prominent places in science as well as in teaching. 
We have already spoken above of the interesting personality of the 

44863°—sm 1913——50 


786 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


lamented Meyerhoffer. Among others one can not pass in silence 
Ernest Cohen, formerly his assistant in Amsterdam and to-day pro- 
fessor at Utrecht, the most faithful and best authorized interpreter 
of the thought of the master; from his loving activity we expect the 
work which shall make the figure of the latter live again in all its 
details before us.t. Heinrich Goldschmidt and G. Bredig, now pro- 
fessors at Christiania and at Zurich, each spent several years in his 
laboratory in Amsterdam. 

The writer of these lines can not help referring, in thought, 
toward that laboratory at Wilmersdorf, near Berlin, in which he 
had the pleasure of working during the years 1900-1901. It was a 
little laboratory located in a rented house conveniently furnished 
for the researches which were made in it (on the Stassfurt salts), 
but not for anything else; beside van’t Hoff, Meyerhoffer, and an 
appointed assistant there was not room for more than five or six 
students. There never was, I believe, a more international and poly- 
giot laboratory; one may say that, except the French, all nationali- 
ties have been there. The meetings with the master were frequent 
and familiarly cordial. Certainly the day of the announcement of 
his death none of us who had been permitted there could help think- 
ing, with a melancholy not without tenderness, of the days which 
passed by in the peaceful work at Wilmersdorf. 

But beyond these details it may be interesting to inquire into 
his manner of procedure in intellectual work and his attitude in 
regard to some of the great questions which agitate and divide the 
scientific world. 

His mind was first of all synthetic and coordinative: his work, 
by choice, always consisted in studying a large number of facts in 
order to make out their reciprocal relations and express them in 
general laws. Certainly in him, as in the case with most inventive 
minds, the result was already present when the demonstration was 
not yet finished—another proof of the fact that progress, based on a 
flight of the imagination rather than on a series of successive and 
maturely considered steps, has an essential part in the development 
of science. That was the favorite thesis of van’t Hoff. 

But he was perfectly aware that the success of such a flight does 
not remove from the exact scientist the obligation of returning and 
uniting, by a passageway offering every security, the point attained 
with the shore which had served as a point of departure. 

And, indeed, one of the characteristics which strike us in his work 
is that when he announced a theory he announced it already com- 
plete. Let us consider his three principal works—stereochemistry, 
the studies in chemical dynamics, and the theory of solutions; each 


1 This expectation has meantime been fulfilled; see ‘‘ Jacobus Henricus van’t Hoff, Sein 
Leben und Wirken, by Ernst Cohen, xv, 638 pp. Leipzig, 1912. 


WORK OF VAN’T HOFF—BRUNI. 787 


of the three fundamental publications which bear on these contained 
all the essential parts of the respective theory not only in germ but 
sufficiently developed and demonstrated. 

This creator of theories, this man who gave science so many new 
ideas, was nevertheless a stranger to all metaphysics, to every exag- 
geration; he was not one of those who, into whatever domain they 
enter, wish at any price to create a general system which embraces 
all the universe, which shall comprise all important and unimportant 
facts, existing and not existing. Though a generalizing and syn- 
thetic mind, he was never abstract nor schematic. We see this also 
in the lectures in which the theories are almost always set forth, not 
in an abstract fashion, but resting upon concrete examples. 

This tendency of his mind explains his attitude with regard to the 
theory of phases, and this point is one of the most curious in the 
scientific life of van’t Hoff. It is known that the phase rule is con- 
tained in the great work of Willard Gibbs, published between 1874 
and 1878 in the Proceedings of the Connecticut Academy; but it re- 
mained unknown for about 10 years, until van der Waals mentioned 
its importance in a private conversation with Bakhuis Roozeboom, 
who had already commenced his researches on heterogeneous equi- 
librium. Roozeboom for the first time adopted the phase rule for 
the classification of heterogeneous equilibriums in 1887, three years 
after the publication of “ Etudes de dynamique chimique.” Now, in 
the part relating to heterogeneous equilibriums, to condensed sys- 
tems, to double salts, etc., the studies of van’t Hoff have already pene- 
trated from one end to the other of the understanding of the theory 
of phases; they are the theory of phases in action, and he lacks only 
the definite schemes, for Gibb’s phase rule is, at bottom, nothing else. 

It is psychologically comprehensible that van’t Hoff had conceived 
a certain aversion for this theory, an aversion which he never gave 
up; he spoke of it reluctantly, and never used it in his treatises. It 
was only in 1902 that he decided to present to the Chemical Society 
of Berlin a recapitulatory address on this subject, an address in 
which, besides a clear and objective statement of the theory and of 
its applications, are found these phrases, which translate his thought 
or rather his sentiment: “It is regrettable that, whatever may be 
the importance of the phase rule, the appreciation of its value has 
been somewhat exaggerated. Many things are attributed to it which 
are not due to its application. The great importance of the phase 
rule rests less in the value which it may have as a guide in research 
than in the pedagogic value which it presents whenever it is a ques- 
tion of treating and classifying the phenomena of equilibrium.” 

Now, this does not seem to me quite exact, and I may say that that 
is the only point in which I find that van’t Hoff is a little lacking in 
justice and yields unconsciously to a weakness. That the theory of 


a 


788 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 


Gibbs has given rise to some exaggerations, that one may even m the 
most complicated labyrinth of heterogeneous equilibrium discover 
the right way without having recourse to the theory of phases, that 
all the individual cases involved can be solved without one’s being 
obliged to state the law—all that is indisputable, and van’t Hoff has 
furnished a practical demonstration of it; but it is no less indisputa- 
ble that there is a great utility in the fact that the particular types 
and the rules relating to them may be united into one body without 
one’s being obliged to find them again each time, the scheme being 
capable of great usefulness not only for classification, but because it 
furnishes a convenient guiding thread in research, especially to those 
who have not the breadth of mind of a van’t Hoff. 

Van’t Hoff was a faithful partisan of the atomic and molecular 
theory. One could expect nothing else from the founder of stereo- 
chemistry. Friend and companion of Ostwald in the struggles for 
the modern physiochemical theories, he separated from him when 
the latter declared war on the atomistic theory in the name of the 
energetic, not only by doubting the real existence of atoms and 
molecules, but by denying the possibility of ever demonstrating 
this existence, and disputing even the advantage of the use of the 
atomic theory as an instrument of work. When the campaign of 
Ostwald, which a prompt defeat awaited, was in full swing, van’t 
Hoff gave, in 1906, in Vienna, a lecture in which, without departing 
from his calm and serene tone, he put people on guard against the 
dangers of this movement and affirmed once more his conviction 
that the atomic theory was still destined to render great service to 
science. 

Of the two courses which physical chemistry can pursue he fol- 
lowed the chemical one. As a chemist he was always interested in 
the substances themselves, the physical properties interesting him 
only as characteristics of the substances, and the general laws them- 
selves, as well as the physical and mathematical methods, interesting 
him only as more perfect means toward the investigation of their 
nature—a means permitting one to give of the infinite variety of 
the latter a quantitative and more exact expression than could be 
obtained with the vague concepts and inexact methods of traditional 
chemistry. On the other hand, what interests the physical chemists 
of the other wing, as well as the pure physicists, is above all, the 
properties in themselves, the substances appearing to them only as 
the inevitable bearers of these properties. 

In any case it is certainly no injustice to even the most famous 
physicochemists of his generation to say that he was head and 
shoulders above them. If one wants to find men whose worth is 
eomparable to his one must go further back to the heroic times when 


WORK OF VAN’T HOFF—BRUNI. 789 


the differentiation between chemists and physicists was not yet 
marked; and to the mind are presented names like those of Bunsen, 
Faraday, Gay-Lussac. But of what use are these comparisons? It 
is certain that he belongs to the stars of science of first magnitude, 
to those whose light does not grow pale. 

Of the four great subjects which he has treated each one would 
be sufficient for the glory of a great chemist; two of them (stereo- 
chemistry and the theory of solutions) are among the greatest bodies 
of theory of universal science, and one alone would be enough to 
assure its founder a place among the greatest. Thus his glory 
instead of becoming less can only increase, since it depends not on 
the exceptional exterior quantities of the man but on the greatness 
of the work accomplished. 


INDEX. 


A. Page, 

Abalones of California, the Sopra sec ei tee! E enche a is SASS Shae eae wicks ee 429 
Abbot, C. G.. ee _...... Xi, 14, 18, 32, 33, 92, 93, 106, 109, 131 
aioe pee in fuses eo Bisse sti Nei Sc arenas sit he Se Se cherd ater 175 

eR ABUT Ae Degas hos a as nye Sia MSNA Moe Je AEE ae SoA 10, 27, 40, 130, 138 
Abyssinia, collecting trip in--...-....-..- CR ae balcsctitc a Date 4 a Deer ee ete 10 
Beerons to Museum collections..0s.- .-csse2 sas scons wo le ee ne eee 27 
USEPA ECU WAT ey ee ceo oe anki ociuccores Gem betes oo. 6 ee aoe 134 
adams» Wl (disburse acent of the Institution): 0.2. 9202. ..2 ) 22s eee oe X, Xi 
MCT HD iis Sa MMMTLON eo as a/c. s Sa Sie ciskne mre See e Seas Dah Se eee eee 21, 128 
PREROMUOMM CH ops ete ie Ns wipes oes VA alld 2 Sails alee a eee ee ie 21, 22 
mMerodynamical laboratory, Langley.............-.: 22 2o.20522 1, 7, 8, 14, 19, 136, 138 
TEPOLb OMe ee BS re EAI Senior 115-119 

MC RCPSNE RCH TIT TAT VS 275 ayatsi cin oie, wiors Sy = rete Slate ow oe clue nora ete, atch nl GE cece Sip eee S 19, 96 
Em uPIOlocicaAl OXpPedltlONSs Wis... 46 esl. ee es on es soe ee 9, 10, 26, 129, 133 
Agriculture, Secretary of (member of the Institution)...................-.....- x 
Albany, dedication of State education building at..................---.---..- 23 
Rereetrip teehee a hol SSA OS Wes wees caig See Soe aE Sao ee x, 106, 131 
PR POEULMVOX PCOLION tooo 52s od So oe sem = amie be eras nine recto s « « e e 131 
TES CONES 0) OE SH DES EN es fee eg ee are Seri SCI | aS Br 113 
Pula MOUn tained eX PeCION 10s ae. ss clases ab wae = Ke Shae las 11, 39 
Arncrican. bears, monortaphic study-of..... .¢2.)so... 25 eles eee ee ot 14 
American Bird Banding Association, accomplishment during 1912 (Cleaves)... 469 
American Historical Association, publications of. ..............- Es ee 112, 113 
Treporviel.. i252 e eat eee 18 

PEHerCane in Gigs, NANG DOOK Ole) ssO..c vo oe bs dace ode koe emia de «ee ee 29, 53, 56 
Americanists, Nineteenth International Congress of.............-.---.-.------ 23 
Pee STSEAT AINA Vie e Senet ie Se mye eo cla lnkcs ete wig Vimo inlet ah eee 
Reais Y Rese tes tres Peer sy ee feck sh ns)a = he, he oe 27, 40, 132 
BERL IEICE ELA MPO LCE net arse Sate Lic OW hehe Ct eae anh ial CA ote WLP Dk s Cec ae 109 
ReTNIEGI EN) hve as co aa es So oe ae NaS. Rie pki cee Boi Re aos 113 
eee EMM CRRD EES as a et Uoes SA Saal is = 2 yn od Oe selawle beeen ee eee. et Melee 
ere a ee ye uals da LY aie HOG Gaines Spans 92, 93 
Panunal report; Pmithsonise 22.202... 25.223 $2225 2 - Se 16) AOE 
eachronolomen| ehudles/I® POL s.. cn o hoe oat Se nee oe ene 13 
Siberia and Mongolia... .2:2scc.c8 2. t losis sees 12, 132 


Anthropology and Archeology, Fourteenth International Congress of Prehistoric. 23 
Mepert, 2. (the problems of heredity)... .. <2. << ...c.jc0-. 0082 +92-- 25-0252 eee | eee 


ealpcionm, Wpene ere no eo see tae od eo cle 3s eho eek eS cee 28, 39 
Applied Chemistry, Eighth International Congress of.........-.------------- 22 
Archeological researches in the West Indies............------------"--+-----+- 45-48 
Archeelogy, Avmorican school of, im Ching. ..-.-.-. 2252-22-22. 2 f= sees 15, 136 

Third International Congress on...............--------242--- eee 23 
Penchiven emi nommstlibiono sss. sono: o. S322 .2 - See. ee ees ee eee 20 
PARR LEOU AULT ADs Serer etre ie SO BA Sy, 5 ah iats VE a tine aiaidinnae A aein ees als ea 109 


192 INDEX. 


Page. 

Arty National: Gallery ofs, wn: ssse ces cison 8 9 -SeG ee eee ie ok ie eee 28, 41, 42, 128 
ATUPORUICH. Foo. ook cis, 5 else ee eee EPRI ese 2, eer le eae 42 
Assistant Secretaries of the Institution....................-------2---0--ses- > al 
Astrophysical Observatory... 325) 2222 eee Oe oI eee eee eee 1; 6; 7, 14;52,33 
Library sco S eo a sw ee aie Scars 2 eee ae 19, 99 

PubLCAMONSS sce cee Lk Rees Se is eee 16, 18, 33, 91, 112 

TOPOPbe so 2 6 cee oeism cio tie oie ie ee eee ee ee 87-94 

rf: 8 ile Aa A Pe Pu se ea sic able clare he oan ba 

Astrophysics, recent progress in (Abbot)... -)./.a2.220 = be ee 175 


Atmosphere, influence of, on health and comfort................-.-.-2---2.---. 17 
Atmosphere, the manufacture of nitrates from the (Scott)............-........ 359 


Attorney General (member of the Institution)...................2...--..... 5 4 
Audubon, John: James. ..\.<i. 2 seca scene Gases sees ee eee 108 
every, RODEr StANLON: 400 -.cis¢ oP sa =< sm clas ee ee 6, 121, 127 
ayaras oF Langley medal sie) ceo! se ect esctele le cele Se a 21,22 
B. 
ieabenek, William Hi 2 oe252 te. secon che uit ae eee pee 107 
Bacon, Senator Augustus O. (Regent)......-.....-.....-- X, 2, 124, 125, 126, 182, 137 
BRON Pron: /RODOEL ao% seer seus Sa © Se oR eo oie Sele See ae ee 134 
Dakere ayy aot oso eek etki bes ot Looe a he ee xi 
Pacer) POE MRAM 2 55 ay cinta atone 2a ane Ce ee eee xi, 18, 86 
baldwin; dames Mo) 20a ts mo Sess eae ua ren a oa pn 112 
Ballou, Prof. "Boward M2: 2 ok. Neh iN ibs fe ei pl AOR ep 57 
Barker Wucene Coe cys cee kl ek a eid AMS a lS oes eee 113 
Bares, Howard Gon .on ses eee eee hee cin A ee 109 
partschewOr, shawl ..8 cho he essen el ek US wae es ie ee 40 
PSABSIOF bcc Sete a < cthete ene Shean = eis icim dad eices wie eee aeaale SIS EE ee xi 
Bears) a:monopraphic study of American. .....- 02 25is:.04:02--ee oeeeee 14 
Heptham MBenieye (ss Sass. SAS Geeta ee ae el AS ee 108 
ICH IY eemsk aicis ore aera msice = aim wis he AOR cana SERS a eee 108 
Bell, Alexander Graham (Regent)............----- X, 2, 21, 124, 125, 132, 135, 136, 137 
Benedict, James... so nicha nap Se ose seek Cacled e pe am meee ee xi 
Benjamin Marcus). in 15. cake sss seeieciatioe ¢ aohus sells te eee xi 
CRG AN Ce cre ve we eateries pte herein aes oe ike See oe ee 40, 106 
Beret, "Alphonse s.)- 3s so shine aioe seed ince ssc debe eee eee ae 109 
Berry, E. W. (notes on the geological history of the walnuts and hickories).. - - . 319 
Biological collections in the National Museum. ...................-....-2.2- 39, 41 
expeditions an Agric... oJ. sc cece see ete een Beene 9, 10, 26, 129, 133 
survey of the Panama Canal Zone.:...-..-2.----522-5- pecan 12, 13, 16, 129 
Bird Banding Association, American, accomplishment during 1912 (Cleaves)... 469 
Birds, the ‘value-oi, to man (Buckland)... (2. J3.. -2<.22 see see ee 439 
Blackwelder, Eliot (the geologic history of China and its influence on the 
Chinese people)3- jeans Jaane Hee 1 ea alias h Oke aes 385 
Bliss, Cornelius N......... 2S te bile syaitie ainea SRS Ne tie ee 134 
Bloch, Eugene (recent developments in electromagnetism)... ............-.- 223 
Bloch Adolphe c/o. a. Se ea a tins Sr ee hee ee ee 109 
BON, PAN oc Lo ace to sc esis alee Ses Tei RIN OI pin eae xi, 53, 54, 58 
Boerschmianin, Birnst:o).62ie2 <c.0i/'s'. es Ses Aehsegs aki oe oe oe 108 
Bond, A. R., J. B. Walker and (creating a subterranean river and supplying a 
metropolis with mountain water)... Gee se - - is ee 709 
Book stacks, NEW: ses 5-6... See mp aeee ogee ee ce 19, 96 


Borel, Wile oc ss ge lay at wc ete bal eee ee eng Paka ee 109 


INDEX. 793 


: Page. 
Maan ce TSI RCT OTIS DIE cnn) 0 (GED Lyle OY gL Sh la 2S AE NR 10, 11, 40, 130 
Oma SACODUN i fete ie ie wade! ie 0 Wy ea bts Ss iW UMe ge bye veih Me Beall Sop 112 
BIEN VN) SUUBE 1208 Soe | ai ge eta oe ee Love CEN CAT Ree HP 112 
ELON ary Venere ane yac,2 hs SUEY Ede UES ety ck Aa ate, a 109 
"BYSPPPET) Zine fe) Ophea A NN a ego es POR PO Rae SO ee eae GAGS 108 
Potaaeatar re OMMGAS Leas tS. Se Mos) Sea os dks AR Oh BON PLN 22, 185 
ieemencolummbian) expedition. 23.9 46050 5 48 eee re Ae ee ee 130 
Beisn Past Airica, collecting trip-In<sso1¢2022. 055 oe 4s ee. oe he. te 10, 39 
prieshe North DOMeO 5.53. 2... 2<cee.-. - BRIN ACPD TG 1g NL rew ed inet) Sg ae 132 
LUT os 1 (Ee a ee er SC cee Pee gee Ou Sasi EMP eal lA A Bye cB cae ee GD 
Brockett, Paul (assistant librarian of the Institution)........................ x 
MIRE EDRs racer race Maisie oe haa et cic desk Sy Re 109 
em SSEIRB BAC ean em Sania Sepae date Mares La aed Sacuie'.'. ce n xi 
rutin. (the work of J: H. -van’t Hoff)... 2.2.25. ..05 22-20 oee costa eaen ase 767 
Bryan, William Jennings, Secretary of State (member of Institution)... ..... x 
Buckland, Jamesi(the valueiof birds to man)......./....'.-.. 2-252. .22220 8 439 
LEGS? AUT ri 8 tok Ae ee ee an SRR Laks 28 
ipirexn ons tandards, United: States... cs < cies oe ccled oni Siw we ee 117 
Burleson, Albert Sidney, Postmaster General (member of Institution). ....... x 
Beet eB ry Mery enc iay sie oi oiascts ts cis. iste ta myatartnca ee NGL x hoe he ea cee 55 
Peet erae Heat ee ET OUT 2 0tcftolg a oct sre Selo ah eo) ofS os Ws ws eat OO 15, 136, 137 
BaP N SO EUS ce ricerca ae ew syd Se nS S| tan a seclg eae 58 
C: 
AEM MATE EM CR OUNITOT cose ooo SC cited nig naa Nak ecyjersis aaa 92, 93 
RUSmEREr RE dca MONLONe = sos) ature aiee Ne. Lie eee SLLEN ee Ua ee 112 
Cambrian geology and paleontology, studies in....................2...2.2... 8,16 
AMA HEL SAMOS scala sons nadie ae. eels ae) bears A eG a aS 134 
Canadian Rockies, geological studies in..........--...-..--..-.---.- eee 8 
Saris ete LEE Wer Nm el 9s (Shon sic sie os oe aXe wd chins 5) doh yd Aen anys, ae 134 
Corre rePerEMOt s MALO MONA ies le pcos eee cle Me Sin oy gnc Se eR eran Sie 136, 137 
Catalogue of publications. BOS ope AE een SUES ase eR Mr ee EC eres SE 2 19 
Catterall, Ralph C. H.. Bees eset Re er, SEIS Le eM OU ae Se ET 
Chamberlain, Dr. Nitseadee eee Ee ROMS 55 4eG 2  ae 8 neers aks an Dara teem Neer je | 54 
Braeetlor Othe PastiCUtlON) sa... 25 di < noe since new oe o-oo tee es nes x,2 
Chemistry, Eighth International Congress of Applied....................... 22 
Srrchelerk Ontne! ImsutUtlON. 22.0... scencecoos de sees sews bel ol a eeeek x 


Bee aoe rihoiUnited States (Chanecllor)......-...) m2 
China, American school of archeology in.....-...-...5...2.2-22-2----0e0 +20. 15; 186 


Mente GMS ROEM eye tetra ae roe aS Sal aiele ts Melee be oaths eee SNS 132 

the geologic history of, and its influence upon the Chinese people 
UESTEVGH se) (2) 9) Sel A ck a eI ee 385 
Wawate, Onarlesihr 10. (RCPCNL)acccascs ee tse cae oven ances. stl oeeugee X, cpg ee 
Clark, A. Howard (editor of the Institution)....................---.---- X, x1, 18, 114 
IST, VeCISTTTen 8 Gy OF Tags cae ae eases anne me oa eg ae eee Race Peer 105, 106 
Sei amne tem tetoe SM sr ene Oe Ns. US 2 Nolo, £8 Sidah aia std Sheth xi, 22 


Cleaves, Howard H. (What the American Bird Banding Association has accom- 
pibeibeciMtreIN EOL) eee ren Seer Seyret a hala cite aya tns oe eee Ree 


licen ie baer ees ices ete te Sch) Bay Ae) giles ee adits 109 

(the economic and social réle of fashion)........ —.......-. 755 
Sombachion fame losn(Billis\e seo aul srs 16% oes's Sis. do nels ale oad tee Wales 639 
Commerce, Secretary of (member of Institution)............-....---..--- ine x 


Committee on printing and) publication... 2.2 2... i. e.e. ede eek eee eee 18, 114 


794 INDEX. 


Page. 
Gonpresses:and celebrations. .2 .....c.2- 1-/-tiose tee ase ie oe 22-24, 43 
Contributions to knowledge, Smithsonian..........................---.--.-- 16,104 
Pook Os WoaGs sivas cose se wa.c ceases Semen ne es Se tee eer = aan 111 
Costantin, J. (the development of orchid cultivation and its bearing on theories 
OL EVGOMITION ) oi 02.5213 accin co's a ulc inte Osc olatareumnatela ariel ak ea ae. ea 345 
Gotirell® DryPe Gisccsscsc sce e cow ees cae See COE eee Tee ane eee 4 
(problems in smoke, fume, and dust abatement)........-.... 653 
Boummont, Jules. 2355.20.22. e cece cs cose ureee Bene See Sees Sees . 4) ee 
Wow: Be SV a2 laws aes are ice Os hie Soe a ee ee ee Pe nA ep xi 
(the formation of leatmolady.)'2.:05 ie ee ee ee ee 333 
Cox visage Joslin: . 6.05 GA. 2. oe Se i aeeiaah ae eet eee ee 113 
Ora wAOT sid ssc sovs cs aise os bees bee ee oes RE 6 Oe eee xi, 98 
Gullom; Hon. Shelby M.-% lsc o2 4.2.0. Ses SA eS eee 2, 125 
@rrrelly, Charles TY. coc 8 Sis. nt See an Oe ae en ee 137 
Curtis, Hd ward Saccs2set cel fee ee as Ue Ae a core ee 133 
Gurtiss; Glenn Ja ss2 csi ts Solas be Care earner Sie eee ee eee 21, 22, 135, 138 
Gushman, Joseph Ao. 5620265. he ds osce tee eee eee ee see lll 
Caine W. avard 22.22 2 eke eee S Saw he eee i een 134 
Dz. 
MTD ESOW SEs aciionc Sire fos eos See sw et eee eee geen ee xi, 98, 105 
Dalzell, Representative John (Regent)........-.--..-.------- X, 2, 124, 125, 182, 136 
Daniels, Josephus, Secretary of the Navy (member of Institution)..........-- x 
Daughters of the American Revolution, report of National Society of.......... 18, 114 
Bay ATGOUE Wie o's, seins oe whic waren store's emyn hen eee eee ne 109 
and E. 8. Shepherd (water and volcanic activity)..........-.-- 278 
Way, Mdward ©. .....-cssecsrees = saan lS SStiedine aainee ee eens ouee ee ee 14 
Demography, Fifteenth International Congress on Hygiene and..........--..-- 23 
de Morgan, Jacques (feudalism in Persia; its origin, development, and present 
GCOHALEIOM esa e cess Gaicic hin ee sees ho Re ee Oe 579 
Densutore, Mass Frances ..52 5.2 ic.c8.. 2022 sccneeteccsmuisa-4 oe oa- eee 
Deslandres: Mr. Ment). 25. diseccccs oe aes See ec oaee Rene ee eee Loe 24 
Devaux, Henri (oil films on water and mercury)...-....----------------+--- 261 
Dickson, H. N. (the redistribution of mankind).............-..:...11...-2.2 0) ai 
Distribution of publications: ..02.. 122.2 ok agen 12 ee 19 
Podge, Cleveland -Hi-*:'. <2.) Saga. s ic. MSR ee ea ee ee 134 — 
Dorsey, Harry W. (chief clerk of the Institution). -......15-25-= 505 sS2s2 ee x 
POLO CBS a esses saa cs age = etnies e, walt es ed, Ses Ee a a lil 
Mirighere, Carl. ct. cic! ie ee bees 2s = Unni eS I A 109 
TPIT ACO DIE Ses Se rae cece le ee ae chee Ss oe cee 2 ne ae 57 
E. 
(Bartitand sun as maonets (Hale): .<.2 2. 2220.23.22. -cseeese as ee eee 145 
Barth’s magnetism, the (Bauer)... 22.4.0. 9 72 ee ee ee 195 
Biios of the Insitutions: 5.222 2ee 2 ees: sass Se ee x, xi, 18, 114 
Edwards, Charles L. (the abalones of California).................-.-.--- er 
Hawards; Hy Wie fi wkeseses. eee aan eta. ce a ee 118 
Htiel’ Gustave: 6520s sods secant eames eee ee ee ee 21, 22, 135, 138 
Electromagnetism, recent developments in (Bloch)..............-.....---.-- 223 
Blectron, dynamics of the. . //2esedey ss See ee a ae ee 223 
Pili te CharlespWees cores cae eee eee Cee tetd eee 137 
Ellis, Carleton (flameless combustion) «5250. 222- 2) 22 29ekee eee 639 


End of the world, modern ideas on the (Jaumann)...................--------- 213 


INDEX. 195 


Page. 

Energy, wireless transmission of (Thomson)................................. 243 

PMV ane etic Manis) “one. o cose ke UNE We ey bo one as 307 

Hsiabliahment: the Smithsonian. 2.0/2.2). 2) soe en sac es BS sitet Rt he if 

Hihnology, Bureau of American =). 22... 02 Ash bouts he a ee 1, 6, 7, 28-30, 44-62 

Collections. 45 dicts hat ae te ed 52 2) ae ee 60, 61 

Inbrary een sere a 2 ek eee ee ee eee 19, 60, 99 

publications 16, 17, 18, 19, 29, 30, 57-59, 111, 112 

102] 010) ieee So OU ADEN we SPB AA Sse aceisis sah Oe oct 44-62 

SpA che rales nN as Sed Sneak eRe xt 

Evans, A. J. (the Minoan and Mycenaean element in Hellenic life). .......... 617 

Piscine Vy MbseTTI Din ces aha ue octenty een 2 on Sie Tat io Td oe RC adh Ri 28, 128 

OMT pila W eS ein eect cia cies al ume a aeie Yad ala I, SomGae k Sep ae pea xi 

RpOtaulo many tHeOMeR= - csc). <2, scan Gcetse nan c2 at ecce a ere ee tee 345 

Brcomenpes, bureaus.OL Transmittal ls... 2. See. soa de kee ee ee 74,75 

PUA er LTANAMISSION Oke ee Sree tS) tno oe ee A A 72.73 

Pxectitve commumtice of the Institution.,......2.5.-./. 0.2. 2. <2. .0: eee x 

MRpAnsON OF OLLOVer Water, LIMIt Of. 5.6 02 22.2 see sk se eb eee eee 262 

Explorations, researches and...............-.--. Spee oe ey ae 7-15, 40, 130, 44-57 

F, 

Fairbanks, Charles W. (regent)........... Sei el Se ae eS 

Fashion, the economic and social ‘réle of (Giemene Ae Ljs one ea eee Pea eee 755 

Banyan niOy Ese mca ssm0 <= == SEO BEEBE AH Ores tel ee ne Cee mys Net ema 113 

erect LABONIE OI Ni Mia's ake ciara Cie oiaie'n Sin win eRe Re a hones Deen e eee eee 57, 112 

Hernia: hoepresentative Scott (regent). -...-..- 202.22 sl sl eee cece ens By 2edee 
Feudalism in Persia; its origin, development, and present condition (de Mor- 

E22 ong sonpt acting JOB SCR an SBR ag Seat a eer) Sa Rae ah rie mE 579 
Fewkes, J. Walter........... S - e E ei. o Bat ee (oN ry ILL 
Fiddler crabs, habits of (Pearse). Beep cect er see cay Lek Se Se er 415 
Field, Dr. Herbert [SIS u 507 (6 [Se eee 2 Ae Se mea ae AIRE ce = 22 
ini oeee COS EVES LGUs THU 105 CO RAE Pa eee ee ee P| 5-7, 121-125 
FOTES] Dn Sa 12 015 S10) URS a eR eee Eh 2 112 
Pinelias Martine. 252-e8 5.2.22. Reet a2, idicva oe Se neo See 107, 108 
fpletireresa COMO MS kon ((HIMIS ot Coe et tesa hele Oo cece a he. cclais 2 wed wwe a eee 
Beaneete SOM er ee Soc oscpre te ele ofeic Oe cio leieiesise Jsic soe: akon ae ns be see LEH 
Ford, James (the fundamentals of housing reform). ......-. BE tea ty oh 5'5/| 
Foreign depositories of United States governmental documenta. RPA eee it: 69-71 
Ge SMN IEC HMM DUIAINS Lessa cies ecin na init s die eno he ale ce cidews cient Beare teen ee 8, 16 
GIA LEN DES ge Se on 12133; 91, LOG Pa 
LEAD GLUED Ola eiy dO JAE ae ge ne a a ge rc xi, 54 
PivGcren@ Mables Mush acta acide oe Sec aw Slate sid n= ioe 6 word os ayo bate ROM OO RON 
rote Wearrecon Gar pata, Wrens vescice esse an bos le Son ee. Oe Ae 56, 58 
LATA) 5 OL TES ASS 28g 0206 WI) 710) OP eee elt Si 10, 27, 39, 129, 130 
ruthinpaarn, Cron. Arbo .2 2S se. eden kG os acl +S 22 Po lc Ee Beene aaa 23 

Gr 
RNIN ees meee ee ae tee Re tert eT ad ee Sg es ce 109 
Garrison, Lindley Miller, Secretary of War (member of Institution)........... K 
SEIS LES LES uncieette Se JES BI Bie 2 se ne ea sem are et 134 
Seria Teme mee Pee Dayar A aS eS 2s Oe adic. ooh aepba dee eee 57, 61 
oare mao Din ere ae MPa ue Ub hee 8 a en geo xi 
Geological collections in the National Museum.................-.------------ 4] 
history of the walnuts and hickories, notes on the (Berry).....-..-. 319 
SERIES GEE TSE Sc ae DU i ng a eR et 9 


DVEN PaNITINCOU NS LALOR oe er sole a se oe Sec un henca el. cence cee 4) 


796 INDEX. 


Page. 

Geologic history of China and its influence on the Chinese oe (Black- 
weldercs ss. ctcse BPE PRa Retin Sime ME a Seraph  in'D) 
Geology Sat eleantaines: eoadieee IML is 7 SUR So aie 8, 16 
Geology, Twelfth International Congress on...............--.----2-2---2-+-ee 23 
George Washincton Memorial Building: rar ro. a. ee. So ee ee 24-26 
ATOTSOH, PATINA D's oasis tetaieisie is sae as el cree gn Slee ee og 112 
Gidley, James Walliams.) 320522205 2. Bas oO eee oe ee 106 
Guibert Chester Gs 3.3). ae. gs ee te ee ee xi 
Giltitian Rev; Joseph Ae. 8 iss ks Se ee ee Soe ot ee 6 2 ee 61 
Gril Da Lancey.: secs Seo sk So ee ae Pe OE Se Da ee xi, 59 
Gill SD rs Theodore Nise te ee ee Ne ea a 98 
Guman, Dr Daniel Cortss.sis20 2 snes 295 Gs eas aoe ae aoe ea aes Eee 3 
Gilmore; Gharles W./2.. os. 2.-. 6200s sy Se hes ee 
BepBet, 0 To, oe dae 105, 106 
Goldsmith, J. S.. Mee ge lawns Lins BOTS ae Sawyer xi 
Conia, bards Bee seid et TU 38 
Gracie, Alexander (iwanty years’ Peele rota ‘consteuction) NE Se eGoy |. tel 
Gray, George, (regent)... Deca aes) Sale Ge eels Loo bles x, 2; 132, 136, 137, 139 
eer erence a) hee ae CR ce ay one eee Le. 
Porrliiiconant OM coven ot xi, 103 
Gurley Joseph Gees 22.0225 Foo sse2. oh we ks: Ye Oe bes ose et eee eee 


Habel, Simeon (bequest). -222) 2-82 2-2 2.82 2s econ ween onion imme nnine ee 
Dele ReS petri hh gd RE Oe ea eee a emi GeSoane SSeS od 24 
Hageslor: Missiose eo) shaolin eo. oe ee ee ce ee oe es oe ae eee eee 
Halbert, H.S.. NIA SRS os See R kaa ease Ae ld eee oe eee ee 58 
Hale, Dr. Gearget... ok Gs Sips te a EM SP i Oh 24. 

The cena aud nin aa sree een ee Oe ee 145 
Hamilton, James (bequest)... Seipibne bie grote SenOe oon Ba ein ee elie 
onder ea ee 134 
Handman Alaska S@res),. 62.20.6024. 6.2 p25 bons ei. bas A eee ee ee 
istrriman® Mrs s HH SSR Ue oS ie os SD Wess Les eo tea te cee eee 
DSR gua oy) 6 bh ig gl GEER RRL ee Pee eee een ESAS ces clss ease 
Risrrineton (Si tP sero becteic oe steer eso Sep s)ae fo na te ae 
Hasse); Hermann Edward -0:22 5 6 25-)-.)-5/55 22 22 so -enae as Se Seles oe Se 
Hay Oliver Pott Sh. sass 03 Seed olen 2 2 PN sb ee ils eo 
Ree Se Re 2 107 
Hedley, Charles. . Ne ciel th he a) aa ale Ge ww eiloik! 2 Seley en ee IOC ee 
Hele-Shaw, H. 8S.. tas wb a Ry wearer 
Hellenic life, the Minoan and Mycenaean Blemnenta in Warnes : 617 
Heller, Edmund. . siepate Srcteis.ss s 9, 10, 105, 107 
Henderson, John B., Bn cS ar. We ebeete eee re “2, 32, ‘35, “40, 84, 125, 132, 133, 137, 139 
Henderson, Junius. ....--. BAS eee & . 56, 57, 58, 112 
Henry, Joseph (first Seeresry, i te Institution. a ha Re oe Pe 23, 24 
nn endear ae Ba tA Te ae NO 2 a ee a 
Hess, Frank L., and Eva.. Combe ee twee Sete cone eae Ree eae eee ee ee ea 
Hewett, ideale ve paid 0 WSR oe SUES SSS AG PA ae pt Sa 
Hewitt, J. N. B.. YS es 22. Xi, 61,52, 6z 
Hickories and walnuts, n notes on. the geological histone of the (Bercy). ee ms || 
Higginson, Col. H. L.. cd SoS ae SEES oboe eee ane ee ROS eee ee 
Hill, Dr. Leonard. . Beare yess ate tl GAN, ile 
Historical Studies, International Congress cf. ite 1. Ee 


INDEX. 797 


Page. 
Hjort, Dr. Johan.. rae CE ER i EOL eee 24 
Hodge, F. W. (ethnologist in charge): Se Spee eee team i i, 18, 23, 44, 57, 62,111 
report of......... Utes eer: A cae RS ane age Nat | 44-62 
Hodgkins, Thomas G.. Se Spee (railed ne Ven 31 ts Ae ee ane Oe 
Hodgkins fund, medenrchies onder. : sets ui se ey ogee 
Hoerns, M. (the earliest forms of human habitation: and their TlntiGn to the gen- 
praudevolopnient of civilization). 2o12 9. So6 a. fo Oo. nae ae odbc cee OT 
Hollister, Ned.. minjetn wilvle! wlal'slnlinin tele nlafetat= Sd O8 Dace Go ooo SE - 11, 40, 106 
Holmes, Sgallern EL Gena ae epee ican Up ferent OY a 23, 55, 112, 136 
“SLULSI AML pte eC AR nape gee Ra Ee RECESS fete vee UPON ee Se eR MRI aE 60 
BAER NY ALU claro cain creel Wiel nae We aie salsa ue mee se ees ae ce ee ix 
iHanrinp. retorm, fundamentalsiof (Ford) 202 ~ - <2... se doe foche dome oe oe 741 
Houston, David Franklin, Secretary of Agriculture (member of the Institution). x 
LOI TITRE SEER OTS Ce aes ES Se oe ne pL ee Pan Re rea Ee mes eT xi 
Peek AWATCS Sf Sata ee Weel Sl ves ebees Se se0 xi, 12, 13, 23, 57, 106, 112, 132 
The most ancient skeletal remains of man.................... 491 
Human habitation, the earliest forms of, and their relation to the general devel- 
Gomentorcivaliaign(LHOCrROS). 6500. 225 boc occ cose dees yeu eee 571 
Hummingbirds, experiments in feeding (Sherman)........................... 459 
EREPRETOM A NE iets cheaters yeni siete uns tas Ute Neen Ne aa 109 
Pieter MAME WOLUN: sc 2c laces aad cc's Se ooo se Sates ese leew oe 109 
PeecHTnBO Rm CHarles) Uetoes. iS 5 \scae ds ok cet See POONER IES AE eee Ome 137 
Hygiene and Demography, Fifteenth International Congress on..............- 23 
1 
Peeperial suunsin MURSUM = 7 252.2). 218.0 SEs) We es 24 
indians. American, researches €aMong. .......-.-2-5- 2. 1.82.2... sues ee 48-57 
handbook of American......... web ec ele ai clonal Set te ns 
Industrial collections in the N ational Musoain. pera an aid. ash Strs e ps See ee a 38 
Interior, Secretary of the (member of the Institution)...............22.22..... x 
International catalogue of scientific literature, United States Bureau of....... xii, 
1, 7, 18, 33, 34, 101-103 
International Exchanges. ........... Sean lieve Oat ree a viel 6183053 
TEPOUU = a sesieie ate, ce sicicisinisicta a= a) ole nr elcizsa ee Re Se een Gey 
BAER Ouse eae ec aels a elte SNe Mca’ i ee, eae ee xi 
a: 
Seana RECS IEON oS ois ius Sh tinin de De tiL ak sek ae nade cama weenie ames 113 
CTS TRS TCI LADUE Lio) dl 1s eID a ag aes REL ee REE a 23 
Jaumann, Gustav (modern ideas on the end of the world)................-..... 213 
RR ITU Tenge LECTIN) Ge SIRS ae gh aera pag 134 
LU degadace Se tceGe eel eee! COLIN iG kailangan barepin aR ueS Se So 108 
DOR CGrea nC OMONGMh emma heat ha hc) 0 ick Lc oon Shi Pee 115 
Perelman witty O) san ebenn sn ™ SW uee eee ee... ob oa nce Sey ee ee eae 108 
Peres man rl Dapsatane eer. game No See ee ae 21, 22 
K. 
Rc cMMIN OTTER IMMUNO sake Seite 2 es aks se eelan So pat ue ee 5 
Reraene nor mira iee ieee tis ee er Co ea lS tale 109 
Kanokopi, K. (Shintoism and its sienificance)...../....-..22.../-....222.2.- 607 
Rapiovae enol Mee meaeh me kk ead le: Be ee 24 
Gel rn ete eee ere wee ts ee ee ei nee 100 


Keller, H. G., and J. J. Macleod (the application of the physiology of color 
WARIOME Sey POCORN Pete uae Sk oe ee ee 728 


798 INDEX, 


Page, 
Goleoy, Prof. Francis’ W 5... -2222-(..0-2 2 poste ge toe eee eee 136, 137 
PEON MOA] iP Bie oe = aeons go oe ios ala nr sito ie Sr RO ARE Be eR NS 48) 134 
oi observers; researches of the...355 2-5. <2. So eee ed ee eee 170 
Weves Charles: Bing fei ohhns Be SNe aoe ne te ep eh ited ache aaa ee 108 
Mayes Piranieis |S COU c= yee alee aide i tee oe 28, 39 
Kane) ahplats sch decd 2 Sa Fes OL AR eee ern 2a ee 134 
Ritne: Allen Marshall... ..-52.00. .22 Nos eke Sea ee oA ee 112 
Memon tom: Bs eo son Sa SAS, ah i ics ar aan teens © ha ae 109 
MornhancserAeidtey To <2 8ccc.ul Lbs OBS eee Ae ERS eo cee 14 
Moeher Driv bits: tec Ao ape ceiien tee Ma. eee yor AUS) ot hc yada oe 56 
L. 
Labor, Secretary of (member of the Institution).........-.........-.-...--.- x 
IGMROUKe AL ont on Foci cee eee es eee eee peor er ee eee ee 109 
wa Plesche,Prancig’ 22. 2532-2 s . Sn nt as Ee ke ee xi, 52, 53 
Teslemiand. «Che sno oe ccs sea mae Scie la ee eret rasa eer er eee 108 
Lane, Franklin Knight, Secretary of the Interior (member of the Institution)... x 
Tancley, DES. Bein. en 2os on.n eae eae cee = ae ease eerie 7, 21, 22, 32 
Langley Aerodynamical Laboratory. .......-- Stow ils Uh ieee 1, 7, 8, 14, 19, 136, 138 
TEPOTON Esco. ee ie ere ee ee 115-119 
Ban levemnod al ce acne Mes. oak See ee Beene 2182 128 @p, 188 
Mancley memoir.on mechanical flight. .:...--. 2-2) 25-- 222s ee 
iangley memorial tabletec 2-2: taasq. ees ae te ieee ania ee 3 
aes Outen Wee bbs) tote) Ree ee ee re ES Me EEE SS )s ces ments So. LZ 
hauten-“BenmnhOld:s. 35206 bac stee seten ood akties ae eee 109 
Eeaimold, the formation of (Coville). .....0....- 22 ho 8 So ee 333 
Wega, Milas. oe sala ees ie ais Scie ereenel no eo cieke as BSE Ae earls tee ee xi, 60 
Biecerms Lies eineris occ nl woo er Ae oe = Seyi ee alone) = ee ee eee 109 
Beerendre Ane ets se nec eerie ont eI ee ee 108 
| DF 292) 6(6 62 a ee er ee ae Se a Mee hy BET P32! Lo ae 108, 109 
Welaridiy Walden: 3. bets. See. SOS eee 2 Ne a ee Ine alee eee 112, 113 
ibaswiban aeremenelG Wo Socc cist ci). feck ses ote eee oo see = eee eee xi, 105 
Hibrarian*assistant, of the Institution=.......2522:..- 2. -22 2-22 eee x 
Pibiary of the (nshtution moe k gece eek ie aie ee eee eh ee 19, 20 
TOPOL ON oe abs Sie se eine eee oe er ‘eee 
Meat wave lene as Ofe fen ce)-lsnc ot. Sa emoe er oie ne la 175 
iindleys Hanlowasesicse = se oee,2 - ae c/n a eee em 22. koe eee 112 
iRodce, Henry Cabot (recent) =... = sis) atigee oe ein ae X, 2, 125, 132, 137, 139 
Poncitude determination at sea! -i- 2-4 eee ee eee 201 
isyman, Dr. heodore..../. 22-06 - sees 2 ee eee ea a ee 11, 27, 39, 130 
M. 
McAdoo, William G., Secretary of the Treasury (member of the Institution)... x 
McCormick Brederick 40°. snr. pnt ein eine = Rees cee ee ete ee 136, 137 
McBermott, 2. Alex. 2226 22S He Sole ee eo acl ee 108 
Melzitosh, Jamesi ie Ws.52 ok ee eats wean Ssinwc =< Sens hate ee ee 16% 
McReynolds, James Clark, Attorney General (member of the Institution). .... x 
MacCurdy, DrGeorge Grant: ooo2 soe ae ot ten ee eee 23 
Macleod, J. J. R., H. G. Keller and (the application of the physiology of color 
Vision: to- modern art).005.S ess Ha Ee eo oe ee eee eee Tos 
Macnamara, N.. C2222... 52 5 hod wi teenie = - eee oles ele ee ee ee 108 
Magnetism, the earth’s (Bauer).........----- Ee Seer MN er es Se 195 
Macneton, theese to. Oi. ees ce cate rate ee eee renee es eee 233 


Macnets, the earth and sun‘as\(Hale) 2)... J ociereis casa tee ee 145 


INDEX. 


Maonews, EGnry Ss WOE ON .).22:..5cu eee. La ey 
1c ULC TS] SR 6 ics ae a PRO Pe ie eee eet 
Mankind, the redistribution of (Dickson).................... 
Man, the most ancient skeletal remains of (Hrdlitka)........- 
oy TENG lL BS a ga Cea Pe a ep 
Marconi, Gee) 52 ssee sae Se apna ete Rena Sear ees reds Praca ee 


Marine poustruction. 20 years’ papers in (Goes. 


138 


Page. 
SN oe Ph ei An ye 24 
EPR tate ee hg 105 
Sete nner, Fone» 553 
BEM REA ane et 491 
Le ee ek Esa 107 
107 
687 


Marshall, Thomas R., Vice President of the United States (member oe the Insti- 


“TESTE oh RTO a aie Ne a OR EN Soot eee na wh ECTS Vara | 


Marsh, ©. Dwight. - 
Martin, Mrs. Ada Be 


PR ONire wesearchoaof = SINS Rete a ae aS RP AE, Bt De Sone eae 


LD SRGTI.. Wey ABEND 2 ae eee aot eee 


Maynard, TCI Vd de Nd RY nN ICAI a SE : 
Mead, William PROMI yak elnn nic hae. Sone er 
VUSTRTIEICS EN cntets eM. Tea oe ea a a a 


Mearns, Dr. Edgar.A .. aS SaaS 
Mechanical flight, ae ae memoir on. 
Members of the Institution... 


Merriam, Dr. C. eee haa Mie noc eda ae Oy Pee 
Merrill; G. P. (head curator, National Museum)........-.........-..- 
RVUERLC RECN Sj 2 Pen cis ae wet Ee oroj ate nin cS eoiog we aisles’ ss Saree eeiniete Smee 
RGF Be ENRON ES. taps dn icivs ox acim aind eee camintice de geinte see lanlan 


Memongrlons George Von Lj oo. ls ss oath ete ae es ee oe bbe doee 
RUPSHOIRGTEM ETNA Sa c~ te ce So esas oo ws axes ameceecldese 


IIL Sys i ie Shs ne SRL Ree Sh 
Perr ee ye 
MeN ibeRET RE TOL AGL Us, AU © a Sint Ls crates om eb hheiatnmec Me osime tame Sela eee 


EG Or Oe so sicc i212 32 


Minoan and Mycenaean Bleweat an Hellenic cit, “be (iva yi 22 oe Sa 
Miscellaneous collections, Smithsonian. . Kite stearetieioacc ate eee aoe 
Mixter, ee ee 
Mongolia, anthropological studies in Siberia and...........--.-.-.-- 
UGH SAMOS ee Sia oars sos Sele e aa)auiae mit aliens soa deka ibe Soy Ue ae 
ICTR S07 RC 0°01 ee en en ST 
MLC Vay UNAMUS Nr sais! ic cite aa aul ala wince Gateiecinde enieulae oajcie cd wis eine Cansei 
MTOR EESCEEIONT (let aeeee es eys lan Cera t el eT So1scc Ges 52s cleat ek ea 
NOUMSEECE SEER Les Sonn eS cep Sa anya vic ae. oe Se Aden eins Raaw ee awe Ree 
RECO AL CRP perc tia es a a ho a OE) oa ee 2 aap i eae a 
WU LECH OU Naver Bor See Cher vis) sioft win ca se We meiae Se wieue aye Mave eaten eae 


N. 


Naples zoological station, Smithsonian table at... 
START UAtG UOTE She ee a ee ee ee ea 
National eee of Sciences, semicentennial meeting ae 


Reticle arr Na 
National Herbarium, publications of... /........ 2.2... .02----5e0--5 


see oy, 
106 

mah a Ee ek 60 
Peas te ean 

_ 98, 106, 108, 111 
xi 
137 
clutter an ce ae eee 135 
- 10, 39, 106, 129 

16 
x 
14 
xi, 19, 23, 105 
eines 8 
. 15, 136, 137 
BEA rene Hits)! 

x i, 50, 51, 57, 60, 61, 111 
ciara eon Se aL OO 
xi, 106, 110, 111 
24 
eremlod! 
Soca eee 
16, 104-107 
27, 40, 131 
Sees ee |e 
= Ki 4g 
Sea wo ele 
56 
113 
See 58 
56 
113 


14 

108 

Sse 24 
_ 28, 41, 42,128 
Li joe occ eo ply, 


National Museum). 2 5-05 -.-c'.. 2 Xi, 1,2, 6,7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 17, 20, 26-28, 36-43, 128 


(ee as xR fen ASS 


- 19, 28, 43, 97-99 


pepe Se es see 16, 17, 18, 19, 28, 42, 110, 111 


DOD Otsu persone oaey es ayereysee apeiaie) «foci ep ateie Stole Rialola re a tare sie fats mess 
SEUSS Se oe ice eco oe ee A gp SE oN 


use of natliforuin. 


ee ee ke ee he ag 


.. 36-43 
xi 
133 
28, 42 


800 INDEX. 


Page. 
Navy, ie ha of the ae of the Institution). . . spiel aerae ie a eg x 
Necrology. . w lain 0. 'nie id wiv Lila wha elnigiaie tale 4E)e) = esa aehale mie-alera orig se eet oo en 


Nelson, E. We. gS ,lom SG (28 we cee apee panes MER EI e ee eee 
Meariann. Koliccs...st.-.) CeeeIRye ely aint pen 57 
Newberry Hon. (0 oe ces cea bsee em bn cian ae ee ee ee Sl 


INGtObe: MnarO. 32 season ind CN ET 
Nitrates, the anuiactore a fon the pimoeshece (Genres ed eee 359 
Nocturnaliradiation, observations’on=). 62: 2.0.56 secne.5 6-28 2. eee 13 
Nomeuclature;:Z00logical < . -e nso see cate voc antes bee sees See eee Oe 
Nordmann, Charles 22). 25.0.2 eda caine sseetaeet easeee eS eo sale 109 
ETNA Pg Goes, ieee ele intel aie miad ew iajak au lls tel ceuie Se oe ene oe 134 
O: 
Oberholser (aarry-C. 2. ote-2)Meeeeed cao beaten cee a 105 
TUTE MMR TIEC Bd aren Shere pavaie ci oI diss als, hihetnin oh am ial ane are Remy ort YS 109 
Oiicers or the Tnsttwhou 2 o-oo ec tee ee haloes Soke ee ee ee x 
Gil alms on water-and mercury. (Devas)... ....<--2000- -. cae ee 261 
Orchid cultivation, the development of, and its bearing on evolutionary thee- 
mies (COstamiany ue ee he ee ead alee ar ait eee ee Mie ee woes 845 
EE 
Packages sent and received by exchanges. .......-...--..-.22.--2-2-2---. be 63 
Pahlow. hid wan Wiss Ses e ds cee ee ee ee eee ie nie Sees ee ee 113 
Panama Canal Zone, biological survey of the ...............-.......-. 12, 18, 16, 124 
Panama, coolocicall survey 08-32. size ss et ace 5. 1h ee I ee 9 
Pastor WWallyis ceo: cet eel trends cok Set ek Vee 2S Ens ee ere 109 
Peabody Dr Wharles. <i. losoosie ec eee eats Se ena 23 
Peanse,-A\:S.\(habits of fiddler-crabs) <2). sco. 2.22 22 ae ee eee 415 
Pepper, Representative Irvin 8. (regent)..-...-...---....------206--2-05- x, 2, 125 
perkins sGeorve Wo: 226i i sls setce tet e tks Doge cea echeh ees ese ee 134 
Perkine iG... ¢: Sis cette Muda: Stereo eeleia eulelee Sasa = setter Nle meen er eae ene 134 
Perret clrank Ave 2.2 eck seh shee Us eke ie One OBER ee Bee ee AAA 109 
Persia, feudalism in; its origin, development, and present condition (de Morgan) 579 
Perimpor latin tis cae suse eens ANOS a See LIS) Lon eee 113 
Peruy anthropological atudies in. 2 2.¢.: 2222.8 22Jse 222 Ssh ada eee 13 
PHT Pow PN see ce ees PS i eae NE dee ale ee ee 107 
Phippalenry sett ie ies sees ks Sekt sk ae. Rina Soe ee 134 
‘Photoelectric ellects tess eee nS USL be OL eS Sel ae ee 239 
Physiology of color vision, the application of, in modern art (Kellerand Macleod) 723 
Biper (Oy Verse ero es eee eke ok ee ORS Se Sl Seek 2 oe ee DEE 
Pinnets, ‘reaction’ of, /on the sun (Purseuwx): i502. 2.2222 222 ee eee 159 
PUaSKe thw seas cwicws as oh ters awiwe o sieleia aleera inte ralaic) ac ale ayaa ole Soe eee ae 108 
Pomearé, Hoenrd 2.25 cscs sec cae cartels wae os oars el oe ee 109 
Poors George W (bequest). 2.0 hacia. nmr saree se ec ae ae eee 4, 5, 126, 127 
Postmaster General (member of the Institution)..................-----...---- x 
SL 0-1 Tah a ge Mv ng il 1 ce a og ah wi Bein eee hey ee 108 
Brain, Diet. Cols Die ore oe a eee cc le coi cae ee 108 
President of the United States (member of the Institution)..............-- x, 24,116 
Ermine allotments for...) -c cscremesae plete e ee nlc oon ree eee 18 
Printing and publication; committee on! 22222 2 5- =. «2 =. eee 18, 114 
Publications of the Institution and its branches..........----.---- 15-19, 28, 33, 42, 
57-60, 91, 104, 107-110, 111, 112 
TOPOTL ON ee. o hace See ee 104-114 
Puisdux, Po... et cheb ok he ca. eee a ee ae ae 109 


INDEX. 801 


R. Page. 
Rabot, Charles (the whale fisheries of the world)................._-.-.---.---- 481 
Era gactiione ime asunOmMents Of SOLA? 2. sicli o Meee uk WES een cede mew Sima este 182 
1 Seri Baye 2] BE pl SP a a PRN ta YOON MO PSR gees Mie y Ty at tn 9, 16, 129 
Rainey African expedition. ....... SET Ae ics MP aAOAS MMI Aes ey PN 9, 10, 16, 129 
LS STSTTIES SoU ST ee cpa kL et en ee eRe rn) UE 107, 109 
Rathbun, Richard (assistant secretary in charge of National Museum) -....... XK. Mae 
17, 26, 43, 111 
FO POUG Ose eras aoa ea ate ET Se eye et ae Se 36-43 
J RESTON, “UN Bes SSeS gan i ae RE TRS ea ENT Mn nT SRN CORD cee ae 10 
Ravenel, W. de ©. (administrative assistant, National Museum) ........------ xi 
Reaction of the planets onthe sum (Piiseux).....-1 2. 2252. 3. ce! 159 
TESOL CRON ors Pa RT IR acl ag ee IR EPS ree an eee] ERA Se oo ee 
Redfield, William Cox, Secretary of Commerce (member of the Institution). --. x 
Tes STE S07) TY Dre baa) Oe ar Maga ut a x, 1, 2) 7,8) 21,26, 30, uke 
POROCCR GING SHO las eek ee Sa ane Vee hee etree 125, 139 
FEO OI Rep te eee roe GAs aN. Me 2 Ne eee eee eee 121-128 
RetdaMrss Winttelawess)<s.-2.-..--0.5--- ee ae Sen eS Ske Re Ne BRD, Ses 134 
Ieveremvsevo)., dD ed Bee ets Ree a ed lf eR c/n a amen ce ne eee en 24 
Peer MCHGOL GORA OMe ences. facia ke hee ee SORES pe acer eo 3, 4, 126 
Puese anne anc exp lOTAONSGYies eo oS 8 oc. hee hoe dlec we eos suis 7-15, 44-57, 40, 130 
Resolutions mmemory of James §. Sherman..........- 2.2.0.2. 5542s seen 34 
Rhees, William Jones (bequest).........-..-.--- Sn seh ye ate Le eee arene ss ae 6, 121 
Richards, Joseph W....- SAS vie Ae ee RARER ENE eae Lem toyed ote 2 107 
Panera ineodoravWalliam s 206250048. Soe eo ee aw aoa 107 
"Ei LET COVEN lel Dal Ore SN ee ee eer ane SU naene een Rees el LSND 98 
uemnerneENOD CGI e et Che tse Clos Uk tg nes, ago yoy ot snr peau aens xi, 98 
Ripple marks (Epry)-.....-.-.-- SUR. Spleen ee Pee NETTIE ape SoC TE 307 
FRUDIDIC LESS SAVVIS eS ee GP A ee ee eel 56, 57, 58, 112 
EORERO MAM AIMON Awe is cates Met idee eyo elie chem NSS) Lea oo ae UN ele Se 113 
EPIPIUBO EBC HAMM hoe aoe sat tts LEE ON ead io LG ey i Be a ns ee 
Rock Creek, new bridge over. ....... SPinie 52S 716 gn epee ee eR aa ed aaa £8 7, 32, 85, 86 
LEDS E ELM G GO Fae BS a2 0 (0 ee a 9, 10, 16, 26, 129, 133 
iootaon. With ces oes...) sb. e Bue See SAR Se Se Se st ae es ae gee 134 
ENS MIRE eee sors ee eee re ete a OM APIO yay he aaNet es i 
SPE SLOVENES OSB REE de aC a ea ee Egan Ces eee Se 135 
EO IPMBI RW Gul bere eae ae teres ey te ene Se ete nei dae a )st., yk Oyen ema 58, 61 
ELC) d Sie LEAS ogg 8 ae) RS a eee ne eS See Se ee Ld 
TRS SNM, TERUG ane BAS NACE ACERT a oe ey ar GEIS eh Rene aO peu opine SAAS, SSE 40 
Ss. 
SENENOURG Ly AWM pL ines sae cate cae Nas gad eo ee eae a Ee ae i 
Sapiiebichwanrduenn sees ec os en ee Se etic: Ay oe a ea a ee 109 
SCIRINHE, dBOOO dB 5 BS seul ere aera ee eg eee eek a aa SuPer be rte Oh eet ae AL 135 
St NGOI CIENTS TOROS Sos Skeeter ee ee ered ee a Ree Ley a a ee ee eee 20 
Siclowsfrers, JD ye WA Nowihe- aay oes aes a St aeee ae ARI Aer ce RU RE Lon bad a a 24 
MOSCATCHES Oise se ees seo ick ye AL et ee Re 174 
Scud clones Nee xeepmnc ree eens ie Bane CRY ago TA Me an Ae eS Lye ee xi 
Heckemey-ob the smathsonian- Institution. 22. 6-222 56 oe ees eee tee eee oop ab 
8, 23, 35, 41, 98, 105, 106, 107, 116, 127, 132, 137, 138 
Sei acura escort cee Se el cr idee al oe corte ee eter ae ee 135 
Oe TE eer Sa ae MeN met RS nes Cady Hels delat miei aise 109 
STASI ee Psi TW GNOUYSTOFE, 9 Mtegla) a 2 Sa ee 1 HO RU CAMP AEA 113 


44863°—sm 1913——51 


802 INDEX. 

Page 
Shepherd, E. S., A. L. Day and (water and volcanic activity)................ 275 
Sherman, Althea R. (experiments in feeding humming birds)................. 459 
HONING D, GAMES oc. ose lke Selec’ oes tee RS ee eto ete 2, 34, 125 
Shintoism and its significance (Kanokogi)..................-.-...... eee 607 
SHUUMINCOn, "Gi Wie a. ous aca acaias seein ee eee Baie ote nde 2eles oe ee xi 
Siberia and Mongolia, anthropological studies in...........-.....-...-..-..- 12, 132 
MEberanex nection, Wayman cee nach «cine stems wee aaa een. eee 11, 39, 130 
Skeletal remains of man, the most ancient (Hrdliéka)........................ 491 
BS PIU G YT: AMUN Sescas ote fe fae ane yas, ms te BR ae eta) See Re ee ees ee C2 ieee 60 
BENTO ca ca re ca ee el Al may ke ace een ee xi 
SSMMUE DE Grom MMVOL isc! arcia = sinparate Se sincnis Siate op Mumia cree eee es 109 
Smibhson (DeGuest)= ool ace cec ose ede cine a selenite aes ae i ee ee 5, 121 
Smithsonian Institution, establishment... 23.2 ce = +2 see see ee eee il 
CxeCculiVe COMMIMEC. 2.2. 6 a sen ee ee ee x 
MMANCES ./.75 Sl cos cae teeth): sa eee ae eee 5-7, 121-125 
table at Naples Zoological Station................... 14 
Smoke, fume, and dust abatement, problems in (Cottrell).................... 653 
Solarconstant Of radiation (ois coe ae ania eign aerate pe 87, 88 
Spwerhiy sATtHUT eG s.0 s/o. sors senate te mnce sete See eee 40, 132 
SON ERENT CAS 72 0 ley fe old ee RARE PEGI sen OF. co) 107 
Svicwinored beat O a1" Uke ene eps aes) eS hanes ee ere mS nee are nal. MIA Sa. 135 
Sie avo ka gag 254 Uh a AB Fg Ala EE eh ies Bs SNe eet Le - 108, 111 
Siar Gistances OF the. - 220255. feces toch beet aebeeese alc eee 183 
Sismopangled banner. 2.2525 soe eos d sss doc oces oo eee 28,39 
State, Secretary of (member of the Institution). ...........-..........-...-- x 
BROCE, WER seenie oe mera mre Ciontete dra Cie ne ale ye Atlan e/ ee apn tia Sie n/a rm 111 
Stejneger, Leonhard (head curator, National Museum)..................-- xi, 19, 22 
Shenouse, sVVAlbCl sss case cis cee ae een oe ceed ee re ~59 
Stevenson, Matilda, Coxe.. 2222 0.205 2 nS e oe he ee ee xi, 49, 58 
Stiles mn Ward wells, 2 nccco fc s0 anaes omnes pelle ee a as 
Sillwell Marvaret -Binsham’..). 04. 22.i S252. oases So a 56 
Stone, Senator William Ji. (regent) ° 2... ..--o 222525 eee eee ee 
Sirsacht. Willard Da ac hee. erie = ox He anes ete Sn =the eee ae 137 
Sitatton, KJ. My, researches Ob: 0-03 22.222 scc52- cise. Sees tees See We 
SSETAUUIS ESTOQUE © 08 0 oi ces soc apna ots e Saks e eiare.e aoa stele mimes a eg 135 
ii hak O56) aS teres een Cre een Ere Serco GS Des 135 
Sree ater rares gl Des) Deke iar ee Cea Set eee mo sos okay ASS: 27, 40, 132 
Streeter’s exploration i IDBOMECOA. Jess sek cleo as 26 het oe eee ee eee Ort 

Subterranean river, creating a, Sao supplying a metropolis Fh mountain 
WAGE ( Walker aGG DONG) 2 = )thee =p eile Se cteceinrc = eee oan eee 709 
San, earth and, as mapnete|(Hale)i sooo. f2 f25 hse 5 ee en ee ee 145 
Sun, reaction of the planets upom the (Puiseux)_~7. .2-..--..+.1--. -2 eee 159 
Sin spots and climates... 2222... ..o4es" SOUL ois Ube Se Ae ae eee 33 
a the nature solu seers. oo ke oe ee ee ee 178 
Sun, the variabilsty ofthe sla5 22 ozs ieee eee te ae eee 88, 90 
Swathon, WOH Bieccccac ol ccc Sak cc tee ee Re. Si i eee x1, 48, 49, 58 

AM: 

Tract, AW LUT: Ele. Metta ry Bo ie ec te le a Sees Nee 2 ed fas he ae dete ea aoe 23 
Raw lore Wranke 2s 2S 2 ee nd tet NODE Suis 25d vet See 109 
Renmiperley,, His W."W.icecs 222 ae bse os. ek eee cinelos a eee rr 113 
Tenney, Dr. Charles D........-. wip 21S) s wie Die ales a wpe Neh acca ae 137 


Thompson, D’Arcy Wentworth........ wi aug Bo as Bia BS pA ee) a el ne 108 


INDEX. 803 


Page, 

PO AZOH, cA Mine ee Met a Cie NR ae ea ERR etter tS epee nde Sa 108 

Transmission of energy, wireless (Thomson)..................20.2.----------- 248 

Treasury, Secretary of the (member of the Institution).......................-- 24 

True, Frederick W. (Assistant Secretary in charge of library and exchanges). . .. x 

xi, 18, 24, 75, 100, 105, 106 

PEPORMOLS Fle ss Sees he OS ae EN A de 63-75 

COLE GI, TINGS 2073 SS a gaa A eI eo cl gO gee tame ae Y tralia 113 
U. 

Usher, Roland G......-... sores Shel ts iba Seca ta teat nN aa (oe Mow tas these ee a 112 
V. 

atue:ol birds to, man.(Buekland) 12.22. 2505. 22nd Pec nece see 439 

Waal hy kes nbanls 6 Sinks wieccises ciewiiorac oe seis el eA Lee SOS Feo 113 

Pade aOft y.utine. Work: OF (BYUNL).. = 85502015 soared inna ee ee ee 767 

Maa ONNG NOM MeN S OE oS soak elk ot en Noes sows ee ee 88, 90 

Peumeieaien lr Mem EAIEO oy. a 8 ca, bn ssn dee Seat eee ee ee ecks ie ee 40 

Di rele InONG EMORY = of sees Soe sea Sarees See Pe ae 5 ee 110 

Vice President of the United States (member of the Institution)................. x 

Voleanic activity, water and (Day and Shepherd).........................-- 275 

Melcamic.eruptionsjand climate...) 002 .8t UE oe 33, 90, 91 
W. 


Walcott, Dr. Charles D. (Secretary of the Institution) .... x, xi, 8, 23, 24, 35, 41, 98, 105 
106, 107, 116, 127, 132, 137, 138 


RCT 2 RD Se A ae nee LIER SP roicea eM reat) ian Resse yee ek 2) 107 
Walker, J. B., and A. R. Bond (creating a subterranean river and supplying a 
metropolis with INGUNCARN WALCBIE. oc acciege nce Akt oe eters ae eee 709 
Walnuts and hickories, notes on the geological antes of the aes Beeps ree: 319 
War, Secretary of (member of the Institution). . =k Soe eee ae Ue x 
YO BUSDTS TENG) GANS Ne 2 cea Se ee ee ene a ee BIO SO 109 
Water and volcanic activity (Day and Shepherd).................2...22..... 275 
“ENTE WETTV pCC Yo 0 RA a ao eee capi |! 175 
Micaticribinean wUmMIted lates sa % 52 bodies os ok ss tie ca et ee oe Says 
i Sera ret One Lusi Gyre ete se OL Me Sh 2 eo ee a 113 
Mies indies: archeolocical explorations in’... ......225.2.62% 22 os. goes 45-48 
Nialauisheries of the world:(Rabot) 2.326.220.2202. 0 ccss2 keno eke tose 481 
Whicher, Prof. George M ................ Rerat erasidinc Sane eae ae 23 
Wihieendrew ©) (recent) asec k site en Moke ee Be as 5 2,.1255026 
tiem avian eerste a Mino. cls OL Pe Uk wd Vay ee Oa xi 
White, Edward Douglass, Chief Justice of the United States (Chancellor of the 
Institution) ..... Ee ame ete oh «aoa si Ahecrain. Les ateye eee TR X, 2, 125,132,137 
"VVIDEUE ESI BVGIT) gi 50 et Se EN Ne eg Re LP TORE Come ONL pr, |p 137 
Pee eae TT Bier yee yee Oe oi. ore ice ba ale ee ee 112 
OLE TG! OURS? Seat aly Vans Se eee ee a Pe a gra one ce PEP 113 
Peer EPO NATO Leese sia Nios i SO ee OE a Sy ei 137 
Rupmerrtmis ley vemertsr cine eh 8 2! OL Seed be es ce axaek ous Seg 57, 112 
Waleamel eeblaray ane cerr ne oO ge a ee ee ee 15, 136, 137 
Wilson, William Bauchop, Secretary of Labor (member of the Institution)... ... x 
Wilson, Woodrow, President of the United States (member of the Institution). x, 24 
VLU ipa CG eso ge, E012 GNA es SE ie a fe RE BO 56 
AGHALSTS IVD Yeo! (Bay 1 sac EA tna NRE Ne 108 
Wireless:transmission of energy (Thomson)................0..-.225.2-22.02- 243 


804 INDEX. 


Page. 
Woodward Dri Hi S 32. sco s pee ae ace seins Meee ee 24 
Wooton Ovens. cee ances sis <- cae Sse he Re > nee sae eee lil 
World, modern ideas on the end of the (Jaumann)................---.-+------- pas 
Wright, Fred... Eugene. .:..s6 i523 S44 len Hs Spain sist Gate Ae te, ,. save Motes 57, 112 
RVIRESEDE, MOINO es So Saye a ..c"s lee ist mcuenere sia ee ein are ee 21 
Wright, Wilbur.......--...-. wb sig S sgt awe ee aa wale bl Aenea 5 Spain chats AA ern ee ee 21 
Me 
NVeRemOr  Woaliteay ae See coe stg mccepa'sts dye! sea ee rayne fe ete nie ate eee ae 123 
Z. 
VOD COS gs) INOS A SA ne a RE Pe a a ie MPP CAs Se | 109 
OVI Lee ee coe MOORE, Vets Vieni et nee Ts.) || 128 
Zoological Congress, Ninth International...................5-...2-.-te04. 2282 22 
Zoovorical nomenclature 2235 fa oe She 2 ee eee | Te ae eee 17,110 
Zoological Park, National - 2222.0. --.20.0- 222,24 oe. - i= -2 2 EI eae eae 
birGstini ese See) ee Oo ee 79, 81 
pita to yo. oy AN POUT ES se aa a 76, 81, 82 
mammals ans i tedas as Reh bee ose eee 77,78 
RE POrb Onis hese ess ae SENS Ae ae eas eee 76-86 
reptiles ims) 2 4.2252... eee ee eee 81 
bait Of ec. cules) ak Ee ee xi 
VIRREORSTLOL 2b 24 8h 0). Sule. le Dain dy ee 31,83 
Zoological station, Smithsonian table at Naples.............-..-------.------ 1 


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